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diff --git a/75796-0.txt b/75796-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f65dba5 --- /dev/null +++ b/75796-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13592 @@ + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75796 *** + +Transcriber’s Note: Two pages of advertising material were moved to the +end of the book. + + + + + J. EDGAR HOOVER + Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation + + MASTERS OF DECEIT + + The Story of Communism in America + and How to Fight It + + [Illustration: CARDINAL EDITION] + + POCKET BOOKS, INC. · NEW YORK + + + + + _Masters of Deceit_ + + [Illustration] + + Henry Holt edition published March, 1958 + Book-of-the-Month Club edition published June, 1958 + GIANT CARDINAL edition published October, 1959 + 11th printing October, 1961 + + [Illustration] + +This GIANT CARDINAL edition includes every word contained in the +original, higher-priced edition. It is printed from brand-new plates +made from completely reset, clear, easy-to-read type. + + · + + GIANT CARDINAL editions are distributed in the U.S. by Affiliated + Publishers, a division of Pocket Books, Inc., 630 Fifth Avenue, + New York 20, N.Y. + + · + +_Notice_: GIANT CARDINAL editions are published by Pocket Books, Inc. +Trademark registered in the United States and other countries. + + Copyright, ©, 1958, by J. Edgar Hoover. All rights reserved. + This GIANT CARDINAL edition is published by arrangement with + Henry Holt and Company, Inc. + + PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. + + + + +_Foreword_ + + +Every citizen has a duty to learn more about the menace that threatens +his future, his home, his children, the peace of the world—and that is +why I have written this book. + +If you will take the time to inform yourself, you will find that +communism holds no mysteries. Its leaders have blue-printed their +objectives. The time is far too late not to recognize this “ism” for what +it is: a threat to humanity and to each of us. + +Moreover, there is the sobering fact that since the end of World War II +we have spent billions of dollars to defend ourselves from communist +aggression. This burden will continue to mount until the world is free +from the communist menace. + +This book is an attempt to explain communism—what it is, how it works, +what its aims are, and, most important of all, what we need to know to +combat it. + +In writing this book I have been guided by many years of study and +observation of the communist conspiracy in action in the United States. + +As a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States +in 1919, I was assigned to prepare a legal brief on the newly formed +Communist Party and Communist Labor Party. This necessitated an extensive +and penetrating study. + +The amount of material was voluminous: Party statements, resolutions, +platforms, news accounts, manifestoes, the very first documents of +American communism. I studied also the writings of Marx, Engels, and +Lenin as well as the activities of the Third International. + +In this brief, which was submitted to the Attorney General, I concluded: + + These doctrines threaten the happiness of the community, the + safety of every individual, and the continuance of every home + and fireside. They would destroy the peace of the country and + thrust it into a condition of anarchy and lawlessness and + immorality that passes imagination. + +Today, as I write these words, my conclusions of 1919 remain the same. +Communism is the major menace of our time. Today, it threatens the very +existence of our Western civilization. + +In November, 1917, the Bolsheviks seized control in Russia, gaining +state power for the first time. That breach has today widened into a +vast communist empire. The attack is still being pressed. International +communism will never rest until the whole world, including the United +States, is under the hammer and sickle. This is what has happened to the +Russian people, now held in bondage, who would be free if they could. +(I wish to distinguish here and elsewhere in this book between these +unfortunate millions and the small clique of communist rulers of Soviet +Russia.) + +Communism is more than an economic, political, social, or philosophical +doctrine. It is a way of life; a false, materialistic “religion.” It +would strip man of his belief in God, his heritage of freedom, his trust +in love, justice, and mercy. Under communism, all would become, as so +many already have, twentieth-century slaves. + +Ever since 1917, I have observed the rise of international communism with +great concern, particularly communist efforts to infiltrate and infect +our American way of life. The Communist Party, USA, started in 1919 +as a small, disorganized group of fanatics. Today, it is a dedicated, +conspiratorial group operating under modern conditions as an arm of +revolution. There is no doubt that America is now the prime target of +international communism. + +Obviously, this book does not pretend to disclose a body of material +known exclusively to the FBI. What it does express is the hope that +all of us may develop a shared body of rudimentary knowledge about +communism: a body of knowledge that we _dare not_ be without. It +attempts, in almost primer form, to set down certain fundamentals of +the day-to-day operations of the Communist Party, USA: how a communist +meeting is conducted; how a top Party official lives; what goes on in +the underground; how discipline is enforced; how Party members collect +money, attend indoctrination schools, hand out propaganda leaflets. +Party members are shown organizing agitation campaigns, infiltrating +noncommunist organizations, and manipulating communist fronts. The best +way to appreciate the nature and objectives of an enemy is to observe him +in action. + +The Communist Party, never forget, is a state within a state. It has its +own system of “courts,” legislative assemblies, schools, and press. It +enforces its own laws, has its own standards of conduct, and offers its +own road to Utopia. The Party member may physically reside in the United +States, but he “lives” in a communist “world.” + +The Party, moreover, serves as a “transmission belt” whereby the Soviet +mentality is being imposed, both directly and indirectly, on thousands +of Americans. The Party’s objective is to produce a “politically mature” +comrade—“communist man”—who will work ceaselessly for the revolution that +would make our United States part of the Soviet system. + +I have deep faith in the American people and in our American way of life. +But I know what communism could do to us. Not because it is stronger +than we are; it is not. Not because it has something better to offer; it +has not. But we may not learn until it is too late to recognize who the +communists are, what they are doing, and what we ourselves, therefore, +must do to defeat them. + +It is my sincere hope that members of the Communist Party will take the +time to read this book—to see how, right before their eyes, the Party +is deceiving them. As we know, many members, once awakened to the true +nature of communism, have renounced the Party. By casting aside the +communist spell, these men and women can do much to aid the cause of +freedom. + +I have sought to avoid sensationalism, even though much of the FBI’s work +in keeping abreast of day-to-day activities of American communists makes +us ask in wonderment, “Can this be possible?” To recount the sensational +activities of communists would defeat my objective. My purpose has been +to assemble, organize, and present basic, everyday facts of communism +which will be of maximum help to the people of our country in recognizing +and fighting the enemy in our midst. Consequently, where illustrative +incidents seemed advisable, I have selected those that have occurred most +frequently and are most typical of the communism that is seeking daily +to undermine our liberties. I have also deliberately avoided identifying +many names and places. + +I owe deep thanks to many for help in the preparation of this book. +On the technical side, I am grateful to William I. Nichols, editor +and publisher of _This Week_ magazine, for much editorial guidance +and advice. In a wider sense, I owe much to the courageous and +self-sacrificing men and women of the FBI who have contributed so greatly +to America’s fight against communism. + +But most of all, I have been guided by the thought of millions of loyal +Americans everywhere and in all walks of life. Never has there been a +time when we have so much need for one another. And we must never forget +that if our government is to remain free, it needs the help of every +patriotic man, woman, and child. + +[Illustration: J. Edgar Hoover] + +Washington, D.C. + +December, 1957 + + + + +_Contents_ + + + _Page_ + + =Foreword= v + + =Part I. Who Is Your Enemy?= 3 + + =Part II. How Communism Began= + + 1. Marx—And the “Science” of Communism 13 + 2. Lenin—And the Russian Revolution 23 + 3. Stalin—A Fallen Idol 35 + 4. How U.S. Communism Began, 1919-21 48 + 5. The Party Grows Up 61 + + =Part III. The Communist Appeal in the United States= + + 6. Who Are the Communists? 75 + 7. What Do U.S. Communists Claim? 89 + 8. Why Do People Become Communists? 97 + 9. Why People Break with Communism 108 + + =Part IV. Life in the Party= + + 10. How the Party Is Organized 123 + 11. This Is the Party! 138 + 12. Making Communist Man 149 + 13. Communist Discipline 163 + + =Part V. The Communist Trojan Horse in Action= + + 14. Communist Strategy and Tactics 181 + 15. Mass Agitation 185 + 16. Infiltration 199 + 17. The Communist Front 212 + 18. Communism and Minorities 226 + 19. The Communist Attack on Judaism 237 + + =Part VI. The Communist Underground= + + 20. How the Underground Works 255 + 21. Espionage and Sabotage 271 + 22. What Can You Do? 287 + + =Part VII. Conclusion= + + 23. Communism: A False Religion 297 + 24. How to Stay Free 308 + + =Glossary= 315 + + =Bibliography of Major Communist “Classics”= 328 + + =Appendices= + + I: Key Dates in Lives of Communist “Big Four” 333 + II: International Communist Organizations and Publications 335 + III: Communism in Russia 337 + IV: Communism in the United States 339 + + =Index= 341 + + + + +_Part I_ + +WHO IS YOUR ENEMY? + + +Many Americans have not stopped to realize what a “Soviet America” would +mean. The communists, however, have no doubts. Their blueprints are +already made. So, at the very outset, let us look at their dream and see +what it would mean to you and me and all the people we know. + +In June, 1957, Nikita Khrushchev, Soviet Communist Party boss, was +interviewed before a nation-wide American television audience. With calm +assurance he stated: + + ... I can prophesy that your grandchildren in America will live + under socialism. And please do not be afraid of that. Your + grandchildren will ... not understand how their grandparents + did not understand the progressive nature of a socialist + society. + +William Z. Foster, former National Chairman of the Communist Party +of the United States (now Chairman Emeritus of the Party’s National +Committee), also predicted that this nation will one day become communist +when he stated in 1949, in dedicating his book, _The Twilight of World +Capitalism_: + + To My Great-Grandson Joseph Manley Kolko Who Will Live in a + Communist United States. + +These words of Russia’s top Party boss and one of the highest-ranking +communists in the United States reveal the nature of the enemy we face. +To make the United States a communist nation is the ambition of every +Party member, regardless of position or rank. He works constantly to make +this dream a reality, to steal your rights, liberties, and property. Even +though he lives in the United States, he is a supporter of a foreign +power, espousing an alien line of thought. He is a conspirator against +his country. + +The communist is thinking in terms of _now_, in your lifetime. Remember +that within four decades communism, as a state power, has spread through +roughly 40 per cent of the world’s population and 25 per cent of the +earth’s surface. Some years ago communists were complaining that their +“fatherland,” Soviet Russia, was encircled, a communist island in a +“capitalist” sea. Today the situation is changed. The world communist +movement is on the march, into Germany, the Balkans, the Middle East, +stretching across the plains of Asia into China, Korea, and Indochina. +Communists have never won over an entire country by a free election +and have never hesitated to shed blood if this would best serve their +purposes. Moreover, in noncommunist countries thousands of Party members +are working for Moscow. Communists firmly believe they are destined to +conquer the world. + +This belief is held in the United States too. A disciplined Party of +hard-core fanatical members is now at work, with their fellow travelers, +sympathizers, opportunists, and dupes. Communists in our country, though +small in numbers, do not feel lonely. They have faith in the “big Red +brother” who will come to their help. William Z. Foster’s hope, a Red +America, is today inspiring thousands of Party members and sympathizers +to determined effort. They want to add America to Soviet Russia’s list of +conquests. + +In recent years there has been a tendency to discount the menace of +domestic communists solely because of a decline in Party membership. +In fact, some have gone so far as to say, “... the party ... is almost +over.” Let’s examine that statement: + +In 1922, when Communist Party membership reached 12,400, William Z. +Foster said, “... we no longer measure the importance of revolutionary +organizations by size. In some places where there are only one or +two men, more results are obtained than where they have larger +organizations....” + +This has been the communist line down through the years. Foster in 1951 +stated, “Communist strength ... cannot be measured even approximately by +statistics.... The Communist parties’ strength runs far beyond all formal +measurements....” + +The Party’s membership in this country reached a low in 1930 when it had +7500 members, and a peak of 80,000 in 1944; its membership at five-year +intervals since 1930 has been as follows: 1935—30,000; 1940—55,000 (a +drop of 15,000 from 1939); 1945—64,600 (a drop of 15,400 from 1944); +1950—43,200; 1955—22,600; and by the summer of 1957 membership had +further declined. However, over the years it has been estimated by the +communist leaders themselves that for every Party member ten others are +ready, willing, and able to do the Party’s work. + +Fluctuations in the American Party parallel those in foreign countries. +The record clearly establishes that Communist Parties have the power of +swift and solid growth when the opportunity arises. The following figures +reflect how Party membership can dwindle and then spurt: + + In Italy, Party membership went from 6000 in 1943 to 2,500,000 + in 1951; in France, from 20,000 in 1929 to 400,000 in 1956; + in Syria, from 250 in 1931 to 10,000 in 1956; in Brazil, from + 25,000 in late 1947 to 100,000 in 1956; and in Indonesia, from + 30,000 in 1953 to 500,000 in 1956. + +_When the Communist Party was at its peak in the United States it was +stronger in numbers than the Soviet Party was at the time it seized power +in Russia._ + +The size of the Party in the various Soviet satellites at the time +each came under Soviet control discloses how a well-organized band of +revolutionaries can impose its rule over the majority population: + + _Date of + Communist _CP Membership _Population + Take-over_ on That Date_ on That Date_ + BULGARIA September, 1945 20,000 7,020,000 + ROUMANIA March, 1945 800,000 16,409,000 + POLAND January, 1949 1,000,000 25,225,000 + CZECHOSLOVAKIA May, 1948 1,329,000 12,338,000 + HUNGARY August, 1947 750,000 9,383,000 + ALBANIA December, 1945 12,000 1,120,000 + YUGOSLAVIA Mid-1945 141,000 14,500,000 + +Under communism, a tiny minority, perhaps ten to twenty men, would rule +the United States. An open dictatorship called the “dictatorship of the +proletariat” would be established. (For a definition of “dictatorship of +the proletariat,” see the Glossary, page 323.) Communists, in all their +teachings, make this point clear. The capital city, as one communist +leader pointed out, would be moved from Washington, D.C., to a large +industrial center, probably Chicago. National as well as state and local +governments would be eliminated. “Soviets” (meaning councils) would be +formed throughout the nation. These would consist of local Communist +Party henchmen who would depose and probably liquidate your mayor, chief +of police, clergymen, and leading citizens. + +The Constitution, and all our laws, would be abolished. If you owned +productive property you would be arrested as an “exploiter,” hauled +before a revolutionary court, and sentenced to a concentration camp—that +is, if you convinced the “judge” you were worth saving at all. All +property used in production would be confiscated, thus leading ultimately +to total communization, meaning state ownership. This confiscation +would include your home, business, bank deposits, and related personal +possessions. These would “belong to everybody.” You have no “right” to +own them under the communist scheme. + +The revolution would affect every man, woman, and child in America. +Communists do not propose to remodel our government or retain any part of +it. They would tear it to the ground, destroy all opposition, and then +create a new government, an American province in the Soviet world empire. +Their recipe for action? The 1917 Soviet revolution, tailored to modern +conditions. The communists themselves have made the claim: + + The principles upon which a Soviet America would be organized + would be the same, in every respect, as those which guided the + Soviet Union. + +William Z. Foster, long-time head of the communist movement in our +country, has boasted that the communist revolution, after the actual +seizure of power, would “develop even more swiftly” than the Russian. + +All industry would be nationalized and farms taken away from their +owners. A small businessman is just as guilty as a large businessman; +both must be liquidated. Rents, profits, and insurance would be +abolished. Countless occupations, termed by the communists as “useless +and parasitic,” would be ended. Here is a part of their list: +wholesalers, jobbers, real estate men and stockbrokers, advertising +specialists, traveling salesmen, lawyers, “whole rafts of government +bureaucrats, police, clericals, and sundry capitalist quacks, fakers, and +grafters.” The communists have a special disdain for lawyers. Perhaps it +is because there will be no need for lawyers when there are no rights +to defend. At any rate, Foster has said, “The pest of lawyers will be +abolished.” + +Action would be drastic, immediate, and without appeal. An armed “Red +Guard” would enforce the orders of Party henchmen. Hotels, country clubs, +and swimming pools would be used for the benefit of “workers,” meaning, +in most cases, Party bosses. The workingman in the mines, factories, +and mills would be told to work certain hours for certain wages. Labor +unions, as we know them, would be obliterated. All such organizations +would be owned and operated by the communist government, and no laborer +would be permitted to organize a union or to strike against his +“government.” + +The press would be muzzled, free speech forbidden, and complete +conformity demanded. If you expressed an opinion contrary to the Party +line, you should have known better and your “disappearance” would +serve as a lesson for others. Fear becomes an enforcement technique. +Movies, radio, and television would be taken over by the government +as agencies for government propaganda. Churches would probably not be +closed immediately, but they would be heavily taxed, their property +seized by the state, and religious schools liquidated. Clergymen would be +required to accept the Party line. “God does not exist. Why worship Him?” +say the communists. Children would be placed in nurseries and special +indoctrination schools. Women, boast the communists, would be relieved of +housework. How? Huge factory and apartment-house kitchens would be set +up, so that women would be “free” to work in factories and mines along +with the men. + +This picture of a communist America is not overdrawn. Here are the words +of William Z. Foster: + + Under the dictatorship all the capitalist parties—Republican, + Democratic, Progressive, Socialist, etc.—will be liquidated, + the Communist party functioning alone as the Party of the + toiling masses. Likewise, will be dissolved all other + organizations that are political props of the bourgeois rule, + including chambers of commerce, employers’ associations, rotary + clubs, American Legion, Y.M.C.A. and such fraternal orders as + the Masons, Odd Fellows, Elks, Knights of Columbus, etc. + +Under this schedule many Americans are eligible for liquidation not once +but several times, depending on their present freely chosen affiliations +and social interests. + +Communism is many things: an economic system, a philosophy, a political +creed, a psychological conditioning, an educational indoctrination, a +directed way of life. Communists want to control everything: where you +live, where you work, what you are paid, what you think, what streetcars +you ride (or whether you walk), how your children are educated, what +you may not and must read and write. The most minute details, even the +time your alarm clock goes off in the morning or the amount of cream +in your coffee, are subjects for state supervision. They want to make a +“communist man,” a mechanical puppet, whom they can train to do as the +Party desires. This is the ultimate, and tragic, aim of communism. + +These statements are confirmed, day after day, by documented reports from +areas where communists have already taken over: Hungary, East Germany, +Bulgaria, Poland, Roumania, Czechoslovakia, Red China, and other areas. + +When you read such reports, do not think of them as something happening +in a far-off land. Remember, always, that “it could happen here” and that +there are thousands of people _in this country_ now working in secret to +make it happen here. + +But also, thank God, there are millions of Americans who oppose them. If +we open our eyes, inform ourselves, and work together, we can keep our +country free. + + + + +_Part II_ + +HOW COMMUNISM BEGAN + + + + +1. + +_Marx—And the “Science” of Communism_ + + +The principle of communism is not new. Some primitive societies practiced +a limited brand of communism in that the whole tribe lived in common and +shared property, food, and housing. But modern-day communism, known as +the “science of Marxism-Leninism,” is just a little over a century old. + +This kind of communism is also known as “scientific socialism” to +distinguish it from “Utopian socialism,” which, according to the +Marxists, is unplanned and does not operate on “laws” of society. +“Utopian,” or early, socialism predated Marx; and its exponents, such as +Robert Owen, believed in making society socialist by peaceful means. Many +of these men were visionaries, hence the word “Utopian.” + +A few years before the American Civil War “scientific socialism” stemmed +from the mind of an egotistical, crabby, stubborn man who from student +days showed no interest in productive labor to support his family and who +used to pawn his overcoat in the middle of winter to buy a few loaves +of bread. This man was born in Germany, became an exile in France and +Belgium, later lived and wrote in England. From his extensive writings he +is known as the “originator” of communism and is today regarded with the +greatest respect by communists everywhere. His name was Karl Marx. + +Marx was born in Trier, Germany, in May, 1818, the son of a prosperous +German lawyer. He was an intelligent child, but temperamental. At school +his marks were superior, and his capacity for work, a trait that was +to continue all through life, tremendous. But he did not make friends +easily, perhaps because of self-pride. He made arrogant remarks and wrote +satirical verse. He was a “smart” young man, but already vain, bitter, +and rebellious. + +Strangely, his heart held an inner love for a home-town girl, Jenny +von Westphalen, a devotion to remain bright despite the utter squalor, +poverty, and despair that lay ahead. Jenny, four years older than Karl, +was the daughter of a government official in Trier. She was beautiful, +charming, and of a socially high rank, much higher than that of the Marx +family. She, too, was desperately in love, but she feared to tell her +parents. What would they think—the daughter of Privy Councillor Ludwig +von Westphalen marrying Karl Marx? + +Young Karl was obsessed. He wrote feverish love letters and poetry. “... +a new world has opened for me,” he wrote his father in 1837, “the world +of love ... art is not as beautiful as Jenny.” + +The time for marriage, however, was still distant. Karl was away at +school. Then, after graduation, he did not have a job and did not seem +to care to find one—another lifelong trait. He preferred to dabble in +atheism, socialism, and polemics. After seven long years Jenny was still +waiting, but finally, on June 12, 1843, they were married. + +Marx had hoped to teach but drifted into journalism. He wrote acidly, +pouring ridicule on everything and everybody with whom he disagreed. +Strongly influenced by the teachings of Ludwig Feuerbach, a German +philosopher who preached materialism, Marx had become an atheist and +called for war against religion, a war that was to become the cornerstone +of communist philosophy. In 1842 he became editor of a new left-wing +paper, the Cologne _Rheinische Zeitung_, and immediately launched +into bitter tirades against the Prussian government. As expected, the +authorities took action, the paper was suppressed, and Marx, a short time +later, went to France. Finally, in 1849, with his family, he went to +England, where he was destined to remain until his death in 1883. + +Marx was a man with few friends. But one friend, Friedrich Engels, a +fellow German whom he first met in 1842, was to become his intellectual +comrade, his financial support, his faithful champion. Engels, a vivid +contrast to the morose and crotchety Marx, was gay, mannerly, from a +wealthy family, and interested in having a good time. He too was an +atheist and a revolutionary, a fact that deeply offended his father, a +leading textile manufacturer and churchman. He would provide money for +school, the elder Engels said, but none for revolutionary activities. +Conflict was inevitable. “If it were not for my mother ... whom I really +love,” young Engels wrote, “it would never occur to me to make even the +smallest concession to my fanatical and despotic father.” + +Marx and Engels were close friends for some forty years. Engels, +most appropriately, can be called the “collaborator” of Marx. He had +an encyclopedic memory and his far-flung interests and knowledge of +industrial techniques supplied Marx with important information. He also +wrote independently and, in some instances, under Marx’s name (For a +list of writings by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, see pages 333-337.) +Together they conceived and formulated the doctrine of communism. They +were the parents of “scientific socialism.” + +Engels spent much of his time in Manchester, England, tending to his +father’s business, while Marx lived in London. Engels was tall and thin, +blue-eyed, two years younger than Marx, and a lover of horses and women. +He lived for years with one girl without marriage and then, upon her +death, with her sister. He finally consented to marry the latter on her +deathbed. + +Marx, in contrast, lived in squalor. He was often sick; he suffered from +boils, headaches, and rheumatism. Jenny’s health began to give way. Her +seventh child was born dead. She became wretchedly nervous, irritable, +and upset. “Daily, my wife tells me she wishes she were lying in the +grave with the children,” Marx wrote in 1862. “And truly I cannot blame +her....” + +Marx did not have a regular job but depended on pittances, especially +from Engels. He lived from pawnshop to pawnshop. It is a bitter irony +of history, indeed, that the founder of communism should be literally +kept alive by a wealthy industrialist, and that a “capitalist’s” son, +turned communist, should become the second “father” of this revolutionary +movement. + +The great classics of communism, such as _Das Kapital_ (_Capital_), were +“hacked out” amid the most trying conditions. For a period the Marx +family lived in two furnished rooms on Dean Street, Soho (London). Listen +to this description translated from an article by Gustav Mayer: + + In private life Marx is a highly disorderly, cynical person.... + Washing himself, combing his hair, changing his underwear and + shirts are a rarity with him.... He is often lazy for days, but + if he has a great deal of work, he works day and night with + untiring endurance. Very often he stays up the entire night and + then lies down on the couch fully dressed at noon and sleeps + through until evening, undisturbed by the hustle and bustle of + family life.... The room overlooking the street is the parlor + and the bedroom is to the rear. In the entire apartment there + is not a single piece of clean and good furniture. Everything + is broken, tattered and ragged; everything is covered with + finger-thick dust, everywhere there is the greatest disorder. + In the center of the parlor stands a large table covered by an + overhanging oilcloth. It is cluttered with his manuscripts, + books, newspapers, the children’s toys, scraps of cloth from + his wife’s sewing as well as some tea-cups with chipped rims, + dirty spoons, knives, forks, a lamp, an inkwell, drinking + glasses, a Dutch claypipe, and ashes. In short, all this + conglomeration is piled high and on one table. A junk-shop + would have to cede honors to this extraordinary ensemble. When + stepping into Marx’s room the coal and tobacco smog makes one + grope around the room as in a cave until one’s eyes gradually + develop a tolerance to these fumes and one is able to make out, + as if in a fog, a few objects in the room. Everything is dirty; + everything is full of dust. As for sitting down, that is a + really dangerous matter. Here is a chair with only three legs; + over there the children are playing at cooking on another chair + which happens to be still unbroken. Sure enough, that is the + one which is offered to the visitor, but without any effort to + clean off the food. You sit down at the risk of ruining a pair + of trousers.... Such is a faithful picture of the family life + of the Communist chief, Marx.... + +Money was always short. Little Franziska died before her first birthday. +There was no money for the funeral. A pittance was obtained from a +neighbor which, as Jenny says, “... paid for the small coffin in which +my poor child now sleeps in peace.” Marx sometimes couldn’t go out of +the house: his overcoats were pawned. His wife was sick, but he couldn’t +call a doctor. There was no money for medicine. “For a week or more +I have kept my family alive feeding them bread and potatoes, and it +is questionable whether or not I will be able to scare any up today.” +Another time he complained, “... the children are without clothes or +shoes in which they can leave the house.” + +But Marx was stubborn. He kept plugging away, writing, reading, +denouncing “capitalist” poverty, and letting his family starve. No +wonder a remark, attributed to his mother, was made that instead of +writing about capital it would have been better if Karl had made some. +The main source of help was money from Engels, from a relative, or from +writings. The “only piece of good news we have,” Marx wrote to Engels on +February 27, 1852, “is from my ministerial sister-in-law [wife of the +Minister of Westphalia], namely, the news about the illness of my wife’s +indestructible uncle. If the brute dies now, I will be out of this mess.” +Marx, in scornfully referring to his wife’s uncle as “indestructible,” +meant the fellow simply would not die. On March 2, 1852, Engels replied, +“My congratulations on the news of the old ... inheritance-obstructor’s +illness and I hope that the catastrophe will finally take place.” + +If the mind of Marx was perverted and biased, it was at the same time +sharp and keen. He was a deep student of history, philosophy, and +economics. Sitting in his dingy apartment or in the British Museum, this +German-born social theorist surveyed the world. In his arrogant pride he +thought he could recast it on his own terms; through his writings and his +revolutionary organizations he undertook to do so. + +“The Moor,” as his children called him because of his coal-black hair +and eyes, developed as his first line of attack an atheistic view of +the world. He joined two very old ideas: (1) That everything in the +universe, whether a blade of grass, a human being, or society itself, +is constantly changing and at the same time is in conflict. This is +called _dialectics_. (2) That God doesn’t exist and the world is composed +only of “living” matter. Hence, man is walking dust, without spark or +image of his divine Creator. This idea is called _materialism_; hence, +_dialectical materialism_. (For a fuller definition of this and other +communist terms, see the Glossary.) + +This concept was to undergird the whole communist “world outlook.” Human +society, as well as the physical universe, Marx said, is affected by +this outlook. The principles have universal application. Noncommunist +thinkers, as well as human experience, have punctured many holes in the +thesis; but to communists it applies with the same certainty as does the +law of gravity. + +Constant and bitter struggle is not bad, Marx said, because it achieves +progress. In fact, he viewed the whole recorded history of the world as a +story of class struggle. Mankind, he said, has always been divided into +_classes_: groups of people who have special interests, ideals, and ways +of doing things. These classes, he added, have been struggling from the +very beginning of time, and still are. + +Marx explained this struggle by means of a special formula, commonly +called the _thesis-antithesis-synthesis_ dialectic, which he distorted +from the philosophy of the famous German philosopher, G. W. F. Hegel. +Here is how it works for communists: + +Start, for example, Marx said, with a certain economic class (a +_thesis_). This class is the dominant power in society, controlling +the means of production, the way houses are built, the kind of clothes +worn, and so forth. Soon an opposing class arises (an _antithesis_) +which seeks to overthrow the first class. It has different ideals, +motives, and ambitions. What happens? A fight occurs and soon a new class +(_synthesis_) emerges which, according to Marx, incorporates only the +best of both old classes. (Why some of the bad does not seep in, too, +Marx does not explain.) + +Then the process starts all over again. This is history, for as Marx +held, historical materialism was nothing more than applying the concept +of dialectical materialism to society. The new class (_synthesis_) is +now dominant and thus becomes, in turn, a new _thesis_. It directs how +to build houses, who gains wealth, etc., but, following Marx’s ideas, +another opposition class arises (a new _antithesis_). They struggle, a +new _synthesis_ is obtained, and again the world is off on a new cycle. + +These ideas obviously are distorted and theoretical. But to understand +modern-day communism, it is essential to grasp the underlying theory. +False as it is, this theory is the spark that kindles the communist flame + +This class struggle, in Marx’s reasoning, always produced a higher stage +of civilization. First, years ago, came slavery. The slave-owning class, +as expected, developed its own “antithesis” (meaning its rivals, who +wanted to abolish slavery). A struggle ensued and feudalism developed, +representing the best of both opponents. But feudal society, then the +dominant class, was attacked by its own “antithesis,” forces within +its body which opposed its ideas. For hundreds of years this struggle +continued, issuing forth finally in a new “synthesis” (capitalism), again +representing the best features of both rivals. + +When Marx wrote, history was still in the capitalist stage, but he said +it could not remain there. It must (there was no alternative) move +on to communism. The capitalist class had already developed its own +“antithesis,” which Marx identified as the “proletariat” (the working +class), which was striving to overthrow the old system. + +Communism, Marx proclaimed, represented the new “synthesis” of the +capitalist-proletariat struggle and the apex of all history. At this +point, said Marx, conflict would now cease, although, again, he does +not say why. This new world would be the “perfect” and “final” society: +stateless, classless, godless, where all property used in production +would be held in common, and human activities would conform to the +principle “from each according to his abilities, to each according to +his needs.” + +Marx, with shrewd cunning, applied these concepts to the society of his +day. He aimed this appeal to catch everyone who was greedy, ambitious, +discontented, or downtrodden. Also, since the Industrial Revolution had +led to some very real social abuses, the doctrines of Marx appealed to +many sincere idealists and reformers who were impatient with slower +and more gradual methods of improvement. The class struggle, Marx +said, was now in progress between the “capitalists,” who owned the +tools of production, such as factories, railroads, mines, and the +“proletariat,” or people employed by the capitalists—the wage earners, +the “propertyless,” the “exploited.” + +When Marx wrote, capitalists were the dominant class. According to his +interpretation, they set economic levels, what wages could be paid, +what standards of living the workers could have, what social customs +would prevail. They were the greedy “exploiters,” wanting more and more +profits. But, said Marx, according to his “law,” capitalists were digging +their own graves. The very rise of capitalism, Marx emphasized, called +into existence its conqueror, the proletariat. The higher the state of +capitalism, as then rising in France and England, the greater the number +of workers required to tend the mills, mines, and shops; hence, the +larger the proletariat would become. Wealth would accumulate in the hands +of fewer and fewer people, the masses would become increasingly poor. +Thus, conflict between the two classes was inevitable. + +Already, Marx said, this conflict was in progress, as witnessed by +European strikes, lockouts, and revolutions. The proletariat was +striking against its oppressors, and the result of the struggle would be +communism. The working class was destined to win. That was the “law.” +This was the way Marx viewed history and how he distorted events and +situations to support his thesis, which followers were later to call +a “science.” This “science” has long since been disproved by man’s +experience and the record of events and situations in the free world. + +In this struggle between the capitalist class and the proletariat, what +is the role of the Communist Party? The Party, said Marx, was to be the +vanguard of the proletariat. Most workers are stupid, uneducated in +Marxism, and duped by capitalists. They could never start a revolution +by themselves. They need guidance, the job of the Communist Party. +Communists are wide awake, intelligent, and, most important of all, +“learned” in Marxism. They know the “laws” of revolution, the “mysteries” +of the development of society. Their task: to be the “general staff” of +the revolution. + +What about force and violence? Must they be used? Marx emphasized that +capitalist society, most naturally, would not voluntarily turn over +its factories, banks, and money to the workers. Moreover, it would +probably organize a “counter-revolution”—which means defending itself. +Hence, under the leadership of the Communist Party, the workers must, if +necessary, be prepared to use force, that is, violent revolution. If the +capitalists submit peacefully, good; if they resist, slaughter them. + +But this is not all. After power is seized, opposition will remain which +must be stamped out, utterly, completely, mercilessly. Again, this is +a job that cannot be left to an untrained, untaught proletariat. It +is a job, according to Marxist thought, for the _dictatorship of the +proletariat_, conceived as a transitional stage between actual revolution +and the arrival of the highest and final form of communism. + +Who would direct the dictatorship? The Communist Party, of course. And +what would it do? It would serve as a steam-roller, liquidating through +sheer force all “capitalist” elements. Then, and only then, could new +“socialist” construction begin. The dictatorships in Russia and the +satellite countries with their secret police, slave labor camps, and +mass regimentation are living examples of the “dictatorship of the +proletariat” in action. + +These were, and are, vicious principles, destined to shake civilization +to its roots. In 1848, Marx, in collaboration with Engels, prepared the +platform of the Communist League, a revolutionary organization which +included a large number of German exiles. This was the famous _Communist +Manifesto_, the first sweeping blueprint of communist aims. The language +is violent, the threats dire. “A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre +of Communism,” it starts off, and ends by calling for a violent overthrow +of existing society. “The Communists disdain to conceal their views and +aims.... Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The +proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to +win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!” + +Well-intentioned and goodhearted men, Marx said, cannot be depended on to +improve society. They are dabblers and botchers who make things worse. +Mere social reforms strengthen capitalism, prolong “exploitation,” and +keep the corpse alive. Tear capitalism down, completely. Use force and +violence. Set up a communist government! + +To the very end of his life Marx remained a ruthless fighter. Invective, +anger, and abuse were his weapons. He defiantly defended his position +against all comers. He bitterly denounced all who dared disagree with +him, such as Ferdinand Lassalle, the German Socialist leader, and Mikhail +Bakunin, the Russian anarchist. He fought wordy battles that lasted for +years. Always, by skill or skulduggery, he tried to impose his point of +view. If he found that impossible, he worked furiously to destroy his +opponent. + +In 1864 Marx was involved in founding the First International, a motley +group of “radicals,” “have-nots,” “socialists,” and “anarchists.” A +number of congresses were held, but little was accomplished. Finally, in +1872, after many feuds and quarrels in which Marx was deeply involved, he +succeeded in having the group’s headquarters transferred from London to +New York, then considered a remote outpost. This was a move made out of +spite, Marx preferring to see the organization die rather than fall into +the hands of his enemies. In 1876, at a congress in Philadelphia, it was +dissolved. The First International’s chief legacy to the cause of world +communism lay in giving international structure, for the first time, to +communist ideas. + +Here is another irony of communism. This man who attacked the domination +of the capitalists showed his own dominating nature again and again. In +theory, he was “for” the common man and wanted to correct the ills of +society. In practice, his fanatical intolerance and overbearing ego made +him a tyrant, an autocrat, a dictator. + +Marx’s character helped shape the whole philosophy of communism and, as +we shall see, forged a hideous instrument of power for those who were to +follow him. + + + + +2. + +_Lenin—And the Russian Revolution_ + + +Marx and Engels formulated the basic doctrines of modern communism. +However, they supplied few guides to everyday revolutionary activity. + +Remaining in the Marx-Engels stage, communism might well have been +drowned in an ocean of angry words, manifestoes, quarrels, and personal +feuds. If so, the world today would be a much different place for all of +us. + +But there was another man, whom Marx and Engels never knew, Vladimir +Ilyich Ulyanov, later known as Lenin. It was Lenin’s destiny to lead +the first successful communist revolution, about which Marx and Engels +had dreamed so long. He was the man who took communist _theory_ and +galvanized it into communist _organization_ and _action_. Lenin’s +activation of communist theory resulted in the seizing of power in +Russia. Lenin stands today, just after Marx and Engels, as the movement’s +third force. More than any other man he is the “developer” of modern-day +communism and the father of Party structure and dictatorship. His +importance is reflected in the communist description of its way of life +as the “science of Marxism-Leninism.” + +Today Lenin’s prestige has been inflated even more as a result of the +“downgrading” of Stalin. He is looked upon as the “ideal” communist +leader and, in the words of N. A. Bulganin, Chairman of the U.S.S.R. +Council of Ministers, “the great founder of our party and the Soviet +State.” + +Lenin was born April 22, 1870, in Simbirsk, now Ulyanovsk (changed after +Lenin’s death in 1924), a town on the Volga River, deep in Russia. His +father was a school inspector and a devout member of the Russian Orthodox +Church. Vladimir, one of six children, was a model student. He had a +great capacity for concentration and could quickly answer his father’s +questions about schoolwork. + +Youth, however, was short-lived; Lenin soon was on the way to becoming a +“revolutionary.” It is interesting and important to note here, as with +Marx and Engels, that atheism was the first step toward communism. At the +age of sixteen, as he later said, Lenin ceased to believe in God. It is +reported that he tore the cross from his neck, threw this sacred relic to +the ground, and spat upon it. + +Soon after, in 1887, when Lenin was seventeen, Alexander Ulyanov, +his elder brother and boyhood hero, was hanged in the courtyard of +Schlusselburg Fortress in Saint Petersburg, later known as Petrograd +and Leningrad, along with four companions, charged with conspiracy to +assassinate the Czar of Russia. Alexander was a member of People’s Will, +a revolutionary organization. This event deeply affected young Lenin. + +In the fall of 1887 Vladimir entered Kazan University and soon became +involved in student disorders. He was arrested and lived for a while +under police surveillance. A short time later, at the age of eighteen, +he started reading Karl Marx and soon was expounding Marxist principles +to his sister Anna and organizing Marxist discussion groups. In 1891, +in Saint Petersburg, he passed his law examination with honors and +was admitted to the bar. Although young in years, he was “old” in +disposition. At the age of twenty-four, a companion remarked, Lenin +already had a tired-looking face. His head was entirely bald, except for +fringes of hair at the temples. “The most striking thing about him,” +went another description, “was his large head, with its large white +forehead. His rather small eyes seemed perpetually narrowed, his glance +was serious....” + +Within a few short years Lenin was to dominate the Russian Marxist +movement. This man who loved to play with children, who, after he became +dictator of all Russia, occasionally liked to sleep in a hayloft rather +than in a bed, was utterly cynical and ruthless. In one instance an +associate in Stockholm complained that couriers were not delivering +newspapers on schedule. “Please send me their names,” Lenin curtly +ordered. “These saboteurs shall be shot.” + +Another time a companion complained about his work. Shut up, were Lenin’s +orders. “I will turn you over to the party court; we will shoot you.” +Without tenderness, with not a muscle responsive to mercy, he had one +goal—revolution. For twenty years, whether as an exile in Siberia or as a +wandering conspirator in Europe, he kept working, dreaming, and thinking +about revolution. Guided by his “evil genius,” he never deviated from +that goal. + +Russia, by the 1880’s, was seething with discontent. A strong +revolutionary movement, dating from the 1820’s, was in rebellion against +the despotic Czarist regime. Many of the suggested revolutionary +programs were impractical. Some demanded greater voice for the peasants +or industrial workers; some espoused violent revolution; others, +democratic reform. But on one point they all agreed: there must be a +change. The more radical groups believed in political terrorism. Their +violent escapades, however, such as assassinations, led only to greater +oppression. + +Marxist writings had early found their way into Russia. The first +language into which Marx’s _Das Kapital_ (originally written in German) +had been translated was Russian. Many revolutionaries were attracted by +these new communist ideas. In 1883 a Marxist group was founded. Ten years +later, when Lenin joined an underground group in Saint Petersburg, the +movement was strong. + +These early Russian Marxists, however, were deeply divided. They were +babblers of theory, not apostles of action. Lenin immediately undertook +to change the situation. But in December, 1895, he was arrested, +imprisoned, and later exiled to Siberia. + +In 1900 he was released and fled from Russia, more ardent than ever for +revolution. With fiendish devotion and intensity he set about the task of +creating a revolutionary organization that could seize power in Russia. + +For most of the time after 1900 Lenin and his wife, Nadezhda, lived as +exiles in Western Europe, going from city to city, often under aliases. +Nadezhda in writing about Lenin gave a vivid account of their life in +cheap boardinghouses. In Switzerland, on one occasion, they stayed in +a room where the windows could be opened only at night because of the +“intolerable stench” of a nearby sausage factory. Another time they took +their meals at a house where, in the words of Lenin’s wife, “the very +‘lower depths’ of Zurich” congregated. + +Lenin was happiest when he could talk revolution. Nadezhda was +constantly on guard to protect his health. Many times Lenin, engrossed +in revolutionary activities, would work himself into a highly nervous +state. One time, Nadezhda writes, he “came home after a heated debate +... I could hardly recognize him, his face was so drawn and he could +barely speak.” She encouraged him to take a vacation. In London, Lenin +“developed a nervous illness called ‘holy fire.’” Nadezhda, after +consulting a medical student, painted him with iodine. She, however, +couldn’t prevent her husband, lost in thought while pedaling a bicycle, +from running into the back of a tram and “very nearly” knocking out an +eye. + +Borrowing from the autocratic character of Marx himself, Lenin made +Marxism a highly disciplined, organized, and ruthless creed. How can +revolution be achieved? Not by democratic reforms, ballots, or good +will but by naked, bloody violence. The sword is the weapon. Everything +must be dedicated to this aim: one’s time, talents, one’s very life. +Revolutions do not just happen. They are made. + +Lenin conceived of the Party as a vehicle of revolution. Marx, in +his philosophical abstractions, had never thought out the day-to-day +composition of the Party. Lenin did. The Party must be a small, tightly +controlled, deeply loyal group. Fanaticism, not members, was the key. +Members must live, eat, breathe, and dream revolution. They must lie, +cheat, and murder if the Party was to be served. Discipline must be +rigid. No deviations could be permitted. If an individual falters, he +must be ousted. Revolutions cannot be won by clean hands or in white +shirts; only by blood, sweat, and the burning torch. These ideas were all +inherent in Marxist thought, but they waited for Lenin to translate them +into organized action. + +In 1903 the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (which was the Russian +Marxist Party) met in convention in Brussels. The proceedings were later +transferred to London, after Belgian authorities had warned several of +the delegates to leave the city. One session of the congress was routed +by an army of vermin. + +A dispute arose. Should Party membership be restricted or open to +anybody? Lenin fought for restricted membership and won. His group was +called the Bolsheviks (the majority); the losers became the Mensheviks +(minority). The Party, Lenin said, must be composed only of trained +revolutionaries. To allow anybody, curiosity seekers, the halfhearted, +weaklings, to join would reduce the Party’s discipline, striking power, +and fanaticism. The masses couldn’t be trusted to make a revolution. +They would run at the first sound of gunfire. What were needed were men +willing to die because the Party told them to die. This principle of +Party organization remains in full effect today throughout the communist +world. + +Lenin was an able propagandist and agitator. He thought chiefly in +terms of battle plans, tactics, and strategy rather than of theories +or philosophical abstractions. In 1900, from his exile in Europe, he +helped found a revolutionary paper, _Iskra_ (the _Spark_), printed +in Germany but smuggled into Russia. (A young ex-seminary student in +southern Russia, Joseph Vissarionovich Djugashvili, later known as +Stalin, was a reader of _Iskra_.) This paper offered directions to the +secret revolutionaries in Russia, told them the “line” to follow, urged +better Party organization. In addition, Lenin pounded out his “rules of +revolution” in articles and pamphlets that were widely circulated in the +Russian underground. + +Though militant himself, Marx was never able, in his detached atmosphere, +to instill the spirit of militant action into communist policy as did +Lenin. The crafty Russian, brought up in an atmosphere of revolutionary +agitation, did not shrink from any crime. He held that there could be +no hesitation or vacillation. Use any weapon—knife, hatchet, or gun—to +achieve your aim, he urged. A man was either your friend or your foe. +Find out quickly. If a friend, clasp his hand; that is, as long as he +served a purpose. If a foe, take drastic action. + +All during his lengthy exile Lenin was constantly studying, writing, +debating, and expounding revolutionary principles. Like Marx, he used the +facilities of Western democracy, such as the great library of the British +Museum, to undermine the very freedom that gave him this opportunity. +Nadezhda tells of his studies in the Geneva library: + + He would again take out the books left unfinished the day + before. They would be about barricade-fighting or the technique + of offensives. He would go to his customary place at the little + table by the window, smooth down the thin hair on his bald head + with a customary gesture, and bury his nose deep in the books. + Only rarely would he get up, and then in order to take down a + dictionary from a shelf and search for the explanation of some + unfamiliar term. He would then stride up and down for a while, + resume his seat, and in a tense manner rapidly scrawl something + in minute handwriting on little squares of paper. + +These studies, as later events were to prove, helped produce practical +and concrete ways of making revolutions: + + [Lenin, says Nadezhda] not only read through, thoroughly + studied, and thought over everything that Marx and Engels + had written on revolution and insurrection. He also perused + numerous works on the art of warfare, considering the technique + and the organisation of the armed insurrection from all + standpoints. He was occupied with this work much more than + people realised, and his talk about “shock” groups during the + civil war and “groups of five and ten” was not the chatter of a + layman, but a well-thought-out proposition. + +Lenin labored day and night for seventeen years in perfecting his plans +for the revolution. His opportunity was to come in November, 1917. + +In March, 1917, revolution erupted in Russia. The German army had +defeated Russian troops. The Czar’s government was tottering, and a +liberal regime, later headed by Alexander Kerensky, assumed control. +The Czar was forced to abdicate. This was the signal for Russian +revolutionaries of all types to return to Petrograd: Lenin from +Switzerland, aided by the German High Command; Leon Trotsky, later to +become a high official in the Bolshevik regime, from New York City; +Stalin from Siberian exile. + +Lenin plotted against Kerensky, eagerly awaiting the moment he could +overthrow the new government. He created dissension in the armed forces. +He refused to cooperate with the government except on his own terms. All +the time he was desperately building up and training his Bolshevik Party. +Lenin had a “sixth sense” in diagnosing revolutionary situations. He knew +when to act and when not. Like a crafty tiger, he was circling his prey. +Lenin was the true leader of the Russian revolution. Stalin, fresh from +Siberia, was relatively unknown, but he was learning the skills of deceit +and murder that were soon to catapult him to power. + +In the fall of 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power in the October +Revolution. Lenin became the dictator of all Russia. Communism had made +its first breach in the wall of capitalism. (The revolution occurred +on October 25, 1917, according to the Eastern calendar then in use in +Russia. Hence, the term “October Revolution.” Under the Western calendar, +later adopted by the Soviets, the date is November 7, 1917.) + +The Bolsheviks immediately instituted a terroristic “dictatorship of the +proletariat.” Marx had conceived the dictatorship of the proletariat as +a transitory period for the establishment of a communist society. Lenin, +however, dipped it in blood and gave it a prominence and ruthlessness +that shocked the entire world. The secret police, then known as the +Cheka, instituted a reign of terror; capital punishment was meted out +widely. A search for enemies rocked the country. _Pravda_, the Party +newspaper, urged drastic measures. + +The Czar and members of his family were executed by the Bolsheviks and +their bodies destroyed. Here is an eyewitness account by Leonid Krassin, +a member of the early Bolshevik government, as related by his wife, Lubov +Krassin: + + ... we went through a period of so-called “Terror”.... About + six hundred to seven hundred persons were shot in Moscow and + Petrograd, nine-tenths of them having been arrested quite at + random or merely as suspect of belonging to the Right Wing of + the S. R.’s [Socialist Revolutionaries, a Russian revolutionary + party], or else of being counter-revolutionaries. In the + provinces this developed into a series of revolting incidents + such as arrests, executions en masse, and wholesale eviction of + bourgeois and educated people from their houses, leaving them + homeless. + +The test of loyalty was often to what class the individual belonged, the +extent of his education, how he was dressed, how much food he had in his +house. If his pantry was too well stocked or his clothes too new, he +might be accused of being an exploiter and sent before an execution squad. + +This was an example of the dictatorship of the proletariat in action. +This was a first step toward what Marx proclaimed as the “final” and +“perfect” state of society, which is as visionary now as it was then. +Millions of Russians found themselves gripped by a tyranny incomparably +worse than that of the Czar. + +Oddly, despite the predictions of Marx, communism seized power in a +country where Marx would least have expected it. Marx had prophesied that +the revolution was destined to occur in a highly industrialized nation. +Russia was industrially backward. + +During the years 1917-20 the Bolsheviks were forced to fight for +survival, first against the German army, then in a war with Poland. Also, +the White Russians, a vigorous anti-Bolshevik group, assembled powerful +military forces. A bitter White-Red civil war raged. + +Lenin’s answer was a policy of “war communism.” Most industry was +nationalized. Trade and commerce were officially abolished. The +government undertook to distribute manufactured articles to the people. +In agricultural regions food supplies were openly confiscated. Poor +peasants were assembled in committees to spy on their richer neighbors +who might be hiding grain. The setting of class against class was an +established tactic of communism. + +By 1921, when the last “enemies” had been driven from Russia, the +nation was a shambles. The Bolsheviks, trying to adapt Marxist theory +to a nation predominantly rural, had compounded confusion. Industrial +production was down, peasants were in open revolt. Private incentive +had been ruined. By 1922 famine raged, with tens of millions of people +starving or on a semistarvation diet. Some estimates place the loss of +life at five million. This was Russia’s introduction to communism. + +Fanatical Lenin, after years of working for the revolution, would not let +it slip away from him now. He struck back furiously. Slave labor camps +were increased; dreaded secret police compelled conformity; churches were +closed. “Enemies of the people,” those who opposed the Bolsheviks, were +ruthlessly executed. Uprisings were cruelly suppressed. + +However, terror was not the answer. In March, 1921, sailors of the Red +navy in Kronstadt, formerly strong Bolshevik supporters, rebelled. Lenin, +with his keen sense of timing, realized that a change had to be made. + +The result was the NEP—New Economic Policy. Capitalist practices, so +denounced by the Bolsheviks, were temporarily introduced to save the +Russian government. Peasants were now allowed to keep surpluses of +grain after taxation, instead of having them confiscated. They could +even dispose of their surplus products as they chose, and private trade +was allowed to develop. In the industrial field many businesses were +returned to private owners, although the government retained control +over larger concerns. + +To the surprise of Bolshevik leaders the NEP proved a relative success. +It gave them the breathing spell they so desperately needed to +consolidate their gains. Both agricultural and industrial production +jumped. Lenin never lived to see the final results of the temporary NEP, +but the revolution was no longer in immediate danger. + +Lenin’s scheming mind was laying the groundwork for extending the +communist conspiracy throughout the world. In March, 1919, Lenin founded +the Third International (better known as the Communist International or +Comintern). The Third International was a keystone of Soviet policy, +whereby Moscow, through Bolshevik discipline, could guide the activities +of communists around the world, including those in the United States. +To the communists, victory in Russia was only the first step. The whole +world, they said, must go communist. “... victory is ours,” Lenin +proclaimed at the First Congress of the Comintern in 1919; “the victory +of the world Communist revolution is assured.” In early days the regime +confidently expected communist revolutions in Western Europe. A communist +regime sprang briefly into power in Hungary, another flickered in +Germany. Although no permanent communist successes were achieved outside +Russia, an effective agency of conspiracy now existed to undermine +noncommunist governments. + +The skill of Lenin simply cannot be overestimated. He introduced into +human relations a new dimension of evil and depravity not surpassed +by Genghis Khan or Attila. His concept of Party supremacy, girded by +ruthless and ironclad discipline, gave communism a fanaticism and an +immorality that shocked Western civilization. Countless individuals, +some in high places, simply did not believe that men could behave as did +the Bolsheviks; that brutality, terror, and the utter meaninglessness of +human dignity could be a policy of state. But that was the contention, +and the legacy, of Lenin. + +Underlying all of Lenin’s thoughts and actions was the use of naked +force to achieve Party ends. He held that there could be no permanent +coexistence between communists and noncommunists. The latter must be +liquidated, by force if necessary. “Marxists have never forgotten +that violence will be an inevitable accompaniment of the collapse of +capitalism on its full scale and of the birth of a socialist society.” + + Dictatorship is power based directly upon force and + unrestricted by any laws. + + * * * * * + + The dictatorship of the proletariat is necessary, and victory + over the bourgeoisie is impossible without a long, stubborn and + desperate war of life and death.... + + * * * * * + + As long as capitalism and socialism exist, we cannot live in + peace: in the end, one or the other will triumph—a funeral + dirge will be sung either over the Soviet Republic or over + world capitalism. + +Lenin liked to use the word “ruthless,” which is a clue to his thinking: + + There is still too little of that ruthlessness which is + indispensable for the success of socialism.... + + * * * * * + + ... capitalism cannot be defeated and eradicated without the + ruthless suppression of the resistance of the exploiters.... + + * * * * * + + Contempt for death must spread among the masses and thus secure + victory ... the ruthless extermination of the enemy will be + their task.... + +This is the Lenin who has always been hailed by the Moscow ruling +hierarchy as the guiding genius of communism in Russia and in this +country. In fact, with the downgrading of Stalin, Lenin became +increasingly extolled in Russia as the “guide to communist action.” +Nikita Khrushchev, speaking before the Twentieth Congress of the Russian +Communist Party in February, 1956, stated categorically: + + The central committee has always and undeviatingly been guided + by Lenin’s teachings on the party. + + * * * * * + + Lenin taught us that a line based on principle is the only + correct line. Never to deviate a single step in anything from + the interests of the party.... + + * * * * * + + We must be guided by these wise injunctions of Lenin in all our + activity. + +In April, 1956, a Moscow journal, _International Affairs_, also made +clear the pre-eminence of Leninism in Russia: + + Using the brilliant plan left by Lenin.... All the complex + questions of home and foreign policy are decided by the Party, + basing itself on the teaching of the immortal Lenin. That is + why the Soviet people recall the words of Vladimir Mayakovsky + [Soviet poet]: + + “Lenin + is now + the most live of all living, + Our weapon, + our knowledge, + our power.” + +These sentiments have been echoed by communists in the United States. In +January, 1957, for example, Eugene Dennis, former General Secretary of +the Communist Party, USA, wrote, “... it is essential at all costs to +consolidate and build the CPUSA as a strong Marxist-Leninist political +party of the working class.” + +Another American Party leader, Hyman Lumer, stated in February, 1957: + + ... he [Lenin] showed ... the need for a vanguard type of + party, armed with the Marxist theory of scientific socialism + and possessing a high degree of unity and discipline.... In its + essential features, this is no less true today than it was when + Lenin first formulated it. + +Lenin could not have anticipated the lofty pedestal on which he was to +stand in Moscow a generation after his death. However, his nation and the +Party were to pass under the control of an ambitious, scowling, mustached +revolutionary from the province of Georgia in south Russia, Joseph +Stalin, who until recently was regarded as the fourth great personality +of communism. + + + + +3. + +_Stalin—A Fallen Idol_ + + +In January, 1924, after a long illness, Lenin died, leaving open a +struggle for power that was to last until the 1930’s. + +The Russian dictator sensed, some time before his death, the evil +influence of the man who had squirmed his way to the position of the +Party’s General Secretary. Joseph Stalin, a cobbler’s son, had been an +old-time Bolshevik. Born in 1879, he had attended a seminary at Tiflis, +in the Caucasus, but in 1899 had been expelled. Already he was involved +in revolutionary activities. From 1902 until 1913, according to the +communists, he was arrested seven times, exiled six times, and escaped +five times from exile. + +Plodding by nature, Stalin lacked the brilliance of his chief rival, +Leon Trotsky. However, his grasp of the Russian mentality was tremendous. +Years as an agitator, prison inmate, and political schemer gave him +an insight into communist intrigue that other Party leaders seemed to +lack. Working silently but meticulously, he was quick to exploit any +opportunity to increase his personal power. + +Stalin liked to represent himself as the heir of Lenin, the man +predestined to carry on the Bolshevik revolution. This claim is not borne +out, however, by a “testament” prepared by Lenin shortly before his +death. “Comrade Stalin,” wrote Lenin, on Christmas Day, 1922, “having +become General Secretary, has concentrated an enormous power in his +hands; and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with +sufficient caution.” + +Then Lenin added a postscript dated January 4, 1923, a full year before +he died: + + Stalin is too rude, and this fault, entirely supportable in + relations among us Communists, becomes insupportable in the + office of General Secretary. Therefore, I propose to the + comrades to find a way to remove Stalin from that position.... + +However, the time for action had passed. Lenin was too sick to implement +his testament. The result: a terrific struggle between Stalin and Trotsky +for power. + +Trotsky (real name Bronstein) was born in 1879 (two months earlier than +Stalin). Early a revolutionary, he spent many years as an exile from +Russia. After the Bolshevik revolution he served as Lenin’s Commissar of +Foreign Affairs and later did much to organize the Red army. + +Many differences separated Stalin and Trotsky, the chief one being +Stalin’s idea that Russia should concentrate on making itself powerful +_first_, before undertaking extensive revolutionary action abroad. +Trotsky, on the other hand, believed that the Russian revolution could +survive only if communist revolutions were promoted in other countries. +Both desired world conquest. Their dispute, clouded by a personal hunger +for power, centered on how to achieve it. Stalin was the winner. Trotsky +was exiled by Stalin in 1929, eventually finding refuge in Mexico. He was +assassinated in 1940, reportedly by a secret communist agent. + +Joseph Stalin was the fourth “top leader” of communism, claiming “divine” +ancestry from Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Until his death in 1953, Stalin +played a major role in the history of Russian and world communism, as +a “continuer” of the work of Lenin. It was Stalin who, through murder, +deceit, and brutality, gave communism _power_, firmly establishing +Bolshevik control in Russia and spreading communism to other countries. +However, he also was to become the first of the “Big Four” to be +denounced by the communists and to have his name blackened by successors. + +In carrying on the revolution Stalin became the interpreter of +Marxism-Leninism. Under his rule the state, which Marx had visualized as +“withering away,” became even stronger, an agent of sheer oppression. +The army, navy, secret police, and all political structures of the state +grew ever more powerful and permanent. Slave labor camps multiplied. +Soviet society became ironclad, more rigid than under the most autocratic +Czar. Army officials, Party henchmen, industrial managers, all emerged +as classes, each jealous of the other. The “workingman,” whom Marx had +extolled, was now an inferior class, exploited and downtrodden. + +Stalin carried to the extreme Lenin’s concepts of the Party as a +fanatical, disciplined group. To Stalin the Party was not only a tool to +seize and maintain power but also a method of liquidating all personal +opposition and a means of educating the masses in the communist way of +life. + +The Party, for this reason, was kept “pure,” meaning completely loyal, +disciplined, and blindly obedient. Party schools, cadre training, and +regimented discipline were needed to saturate the members in communism. +Weaklings were purged, expelled and exiled to Siberia, or executed. +In Soviet Russia, and all her satellites, the Party was constantly +“Bolshevized”—made “more perfect in communism.” + +One result of this insistent demand for discipline under Stalin was +the increasing crystallization of Marxism-Leninism—already a harsh +and regimented code—into an even more rigid, static, and often sterile +body of doctrine. Like a shrinking garment, communist doctrine pressed +ever more tightly on communists everywhere. Every action now had to +be “justified” by theory. If the theory didn’t fit, then it had to be +reinterpreted. To deviate was to court disaster. Stalin, though not so +good a theorist as Lenin, liked to pose as Marxism-Leninism’s “expert” +interpreter. + +This ossification of communist doctrine, under which the individual +was afraid to take any initiative, contributed largely to the violent +reaction against Stalin after his death. His successors realized that +_some_ breathing room was absolutely essential, although during Stalin’s +reign they were content to serve, without protest so far as the record +shows, as the executors of his policies. + +Stalin also identified communism with nationalism and imperialism: +_Russian_ nationalism and _Russian_ imperialism. + +To him, communism seemed an ideal vehicle for Russian world conquest, +and so, once communism was firmly entrenched in Russia, he embarked on a +policy curiously similar to that of Czarist imperialists like Peter the +Great and Catherine the Great. + +Aided by disturbed world conditions between 1939 and 1953, Stalin started +the Soviet chariot of conquest. He directly annexed a number of areas, +such as eastern Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, part of Finland, +eastern Czechoslovakia, part of Roumania. Then, using communism as an +ideological adhesive, Stalin created a Soviet orbit: Yugoslavia, China, +Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria, North Korea, Czechoslovakia, Roumania, East +Germany, Albania, Tibet, Outer Mongolia, and North Indochina (where +bloody fighting was in progress at the time of his death). No wonder +William Z. Foster in February, 1956, could boast that seventeen countries +were “actually building Socialism or are definitely orientating in that +direction,” having a total population of 900,000,000! He adds: “They +constitute the beginning of the new Socialist world.” Note the use of the +word “beginning.” + +Native communist parties, aided by Moscow, were often the instruments +of subjugation, Trojan horses of the twentieth century. At other times +Russian military power paved the way. Peoples with long traditions of +freedom were betrayed into slavery. Significantly, no entire country has +ever gone communist and become a satellite by the free choice of election. + +This grandiose conquest was abetted by Stalin’s inheritance of the tools +of Marxism-Leninism, a way of life that is imperialistic, overbearing, +and dictatorial. Some individuals may accuse Stalin, alone of the +communist “Big Four,” of being responsible for the terror of modern-day +communism. Marx, Engels, and Lenin, however, are also fully accountable, +and so are Stalin’s henchmen, who still rule in the Soviet Union. Stalin +may have been the active agent of conquest in our generation, but his +knives were sharpened on the diabolical teachings of his communist +predecessors. + +Even in Stalin’s time cracks had begun to appear in the communist empire. +In 1948 a terrific fissure, the break with Tito’s Yugoslavia, rocked +Moscow. Currents of discontent, leading to national communism, spread +through the European satellite nations. (National communism holds that +nations can find their own way to communism and need not slavishly copy +Moscow, yet also implies full confidence in the aims and doctrines of +Marxism-Leninism, whose application will result in world communism.) +“Treason trials” sprouted in many places: Vladimir Clementis and Rudolf +Slansky in Czechoslovakia; Laszlo Rajk in Hungary; Traicho Kostov in +Bulgaria. These high Party officials, all old-time communists, along with +others, were executed. In Poland, Wladyslaw Gomulka, a deputy premier, +was expelled from the Party and imprisoned. Stalin’s tyranny became even +more strongly entrenched. + +Few observers, even in Russia, however, could have guessed the intensity +of hatred that lay under Russian tyranny. Less than four years after +Stalin’s death the power of freedom was to erupt in Hungary. Poland +swayed on the verge of revolt; unrest swept other satellites. Ironically, +Gomulka, expelled as a traitor, now became Party boss of Poland; Rajk, +along with others, was “rehabilitated.” The “sorrowing” communists even +dug up his body, staged a giant funeral, and buried him again, this time +with honors. Stalin left a precarious legacy for his successors. + +But in barely a generation Russia had moved swiftly forward in its +campaign of world conquest. In the name of Karl Marx (who, in his +day, had roundly denounced the imperialism of the Czars) and by the +application of his doctrines, Stalin had created a dictatorial empire far +beyond the dreams of any Czar. Such a dictatorial empire grows out of the +very nature of Marxist thought and is inevitable wherever it is applied. +In the Kremlin the dream of world conquest still persists. It threatens +free peoples everywhere. + +This Russian conquest was made possible, in large measure, by the +tremendous strengthening of the Soviet state. In 1928 the first of a +series of Five Year Plans, designed to strengthen heavy industry and +collectivize agriculture, was launched. Step by step the New Economic +Policy, adopted by Lenin in 1921, disappeared. + +The government now undertook to control everything. Production quotas, +which had to be met, were set. Compulsory labor increased. Private +trade disappeared. A system of rationing was introduced. Consumer goods +virtually disappeared. + +In rural areas small farms were abolished. Peasants were compelled to +live in giant cooperatives. Many of the more well-to-do farmers, called +kulaks, were dispossessed and shipped to Siberia. Entire families were +liquidated. The secret police became more active. + +As under Lenin’s “war communism,” the Five Year Plan brought untold human +misery. The forced collectivization of agriculture caused a shortage of +food. Transportation broke down in many areas. In the Ukraine, the food +basket of Russia, famine reappeared. Millions of people died. Disease +stalked the land. + +But Stalin held firm. Heavy industry must be expanded—steel mills, +automobile and tractor factories, railroads. Coal mines must be operated. +Armaments must be expedited. Stalin was preparing the base for world +conquest. The price in human suffering and privation was incalculable, +and unimportant. + +At the same time Stalin was furthering a communist society. Art, +literature, education, and the press were harnessed to the struggle. A +new generation dedicated to following Stalin’s will was being created. +No opposition was tolerated. In 1936 Stalin brought forth a Soviet +constitution, a document glittering with supposed “rights” for the people +but actually a mask for ever-increasing tyranny. + +From 1934 to 1938 was a period of great purges. The world witnessed the +spectacle of gigantic public trials of old Bolsheviks such as Grigori +Zinoviev and Nikolai Bukharin, both former presidents of the Communist +International, and A. I. Rykov, a former Premier, all accused of +treason. Even Yagoda, former head of the secret police, was brought to +court. Many, as comrades of Lenin, had fought to create the Bolshevik +revolution. Now they were denounced as arch traitors. Nobody knows how +many thousands were killed in these blood purges. But one thing was +obvious: Stalin was liquidating all possible opposition. + +Inevitably Stalin became, in communist eyes, a virtual god on earth. He +was pictured as the world’s greatest military genius, scientist, author, +critic, statesman, popular hero, thinker and engineer. + +Here are some of the accolades: + + Long live the wise leader of our Party and people, the inspirer + and organizer of all our victories, Comrade Stalin! (N. S. + Khrushchev, October, 1952) + + ... Stalin’s work will live through the ages, and grateful + posterity will, like us, glorify his name. (G. M. Malenkov, + March, 1953, who in 1957 was junked like Stalin) + + ... During those hard and grim days for our Motherland, the + greatness of our leader and teacher, Comrade Stalin, was + revealed in all its magnificence. (N. A. Bulganin, December, + 1949) + +On March 5, 1953, Stalin died. The communist world went into mourning. +His funeral was a state spectacle. His body, like Lenin’s, was entombed +in Moscow. Speeches extolled his “greatness.” + +The whole world wondered, What next? First a triumvirate, Malenkov, +Molotov, and Beria, assumed control. Less than a year later Beria, +head of the secret police, was executed as a “traitor.” Then Malenkov, +generally regarded as the Number One leader, was deposed as Premier. +Later, Molotov, the old-time Bolshevik, was ousted from the Foreign +Ministry, as was his successor, Dmitri T. Shepilov, former editor of +_Pravda_. All three were denounced in 1957 as “enemies” of the Party. +(Still later, Marshal Georgi Zhukov, Red Army hero, was ousted as Soviet +Defense Minister.) + +Gradually new faces began to appear, especially that of Nikita S. +Khrushchev, a Politburo member, who became First Secretary of the Central +Committee of the Communist Party, a powerful position. N. A. Bulganin, +one of Stalin’s “political” generals, assumed the job of Premier. These +two, referred to as “B and K,” became the most prominently known leaders. + +Significant changes, both in foreign and domestic policies, appeared. +But underneath, as the suppression of the Hungarian revolt was to prove, +lay the ruthless policies of Stalin. Under Malenkov, attempts were made +to encourage the production of consumer items, but with his fall, stress +reverted to the old Stalinist emphasis on heavy industry. In the foreign +field, “B and K” made a widely heralded trip to Yugoslavia, there to woo +Tito back into the Moscow camp. The “Big Smile” was radiant at the Geneva +Conference of July, 1955, attended by heads of state of France, England, +the United States, and Russia, and during highly publicized visits of “B +and K” to India and Great Britain. + +The cult of Stalin, which had reached nauseating proportions, was toned +down. Emphasis was laid on collective leadership. Then, on the night +of February 24-25, 1956, came the bombshell that shook and shocked +communists around the world—the bitter denunciation of Stalin by +Khrushchev at the Twentieth Congress of the Russian Communist Party. It +was as devastating a speech as was ever delivered by one man against +another. Copies of the speech, not made public in Russia, found their way +to the West and in June, 1956, were released by our own Department of +State. + +Khrushchev denounced Stalin, the “great Stalin” who had been idolized +by all communists as a man who could do no wrong, as a murderer, +pathological liar, and perverter of Marxism-Leninism. In fiery language +and with specific names and dates, Khrushchev accused Stalin of mass +terror, deporting whole populations, forging false evidence against +alleged enemies, being a coward during World War II, and possessing a +vanity that led him to believe he was a god. Khrushchev in his systematic +destruction of Stalin dealt with such matters as: + +_1. Mass terror:_ + + Stalin acted not through persuasion, explanation, and patient + cooperation with people, but by imposing his concepts and + demanding absolute submission to his opinion. Whoever opposed + this concept or tried to prove his viewpoint, and the + correctness of his position—was doomed to ... subsequent moral + and physical annihilation. + + * * * * * + + Stalin put the Party and the NKVD [secret police] up to the use + of mass terror.... + + * * * * * + + Mass arrests of Party, Soviet, economic and military workers + caused tremendous harm to our country and to the cause of + Socialist advancement. + +_2. Suspicion and distrust:_ + + Stalin was a very distrustful man, sickly suspicious; we knew + this from our work with him. He could look at a man and say: + “Why are your eyes so shifty today,” or “Why are you turning so + much today and avoiding to look me directly in the eyes?” The + sickly suspicion created in him a general distrust even toward + eminent Party workers whom he had known for years. Everywhere + and in everything he saw “enemies,” “two-facers” and “spies.” + + * * * * * + + “It has happened sometimes that a man goes to Stalin on his + invitation as a friend. And when he sits with Stalin, he does + not know where he will be sent next, home or to jail.” + + * * * * * + + ... after the war ... Stalin became even more capricious, + irritable and brutal; in particular his suspicion grew. His + persecution mania reached unbelievable dimensions. Many + workers were becoming enemies before his very eyes. After the + war Stalin separated himself from the collective even more. + Everything was decided by him alone without any consideration + for anyone or anything. + +_3. Illegal arrests:_ + + [In one case, Stalin curtly told an official:] “If you do not + obtain confessions from the doctors we will shorten you by a + head.” + + * * * * * + + When Stalin said that one or another should be arrested, it + was necessary to accept on faith that he was an “enemy of the + people”.... And how is it possible that a person confesses to + crimes which he has not committed? Only in one way—because of + application of physical methods of pressuring him, tortures, + bringing him to a state of unconsciousness, deprivation of his + judgment, taking away of his human dignity. In this manner were + “confessions” acquired. + +_4. Abuse of power:_ + + It is clear that here Stalin showed in a whole series of + cases his intolerance, his brutality and his abuse of power. + Instead of proving his political correctness and mobilizing the + masses, he often chose the path of repression and physical + annihilation, not only against actual enemies, but also against + individuals who had not committed any crimes against the Party + and the Soviet government. + +_5. Isolation from people:_ + + Stalin separated himself from the people and never went + anywhere. This lasted tens of years. The last time he visited + a village was in January 1928 when he visited Siberia in + connection with grain deliveries. How then could he have known + the situation in the provinces? + +_6. Love of self:_ + + You should have seen Stalin’s fury! How could it be admitted + that he, Stalin, had not been right! He is after all a + “genius,” and a genius cannot help but be right! Everyone can + err, but Stalin considered that he never erred, that he was + always right. He never acknowledged to anyone that he made any + mistake, large or small, despite the fact that he made not + a few mistakes in the matter of theory and in his practical + activity. + + * * * * * + + The cult of the individual acquired such monstrous size + chiefly because Stalin himself, using all conceivable methods, + supported the glorification of his own person.... + +Khrushchev, telling how Stalin, in his own hand, wrote flattering +statements about himself for his own biography, said: “This book is +an expression of the most dissolute flattery, an example of making a +man into a godhead, of transforming him into an infallible sage, ‘the +greatest leader,’ ‘sublime strategist of all times and nations.’ Finally +no other words could be found with which to lift Stalin up to the +heavens.” + +And then Khrushchev says, Stalin even had the audacity to add, again with +his own pen, “... Stalin never allowed his work to be marred by the +slightest hint of vanity, conceit or self-adulation.” + +No mention was made by Khrushchev of any anti-Semitic crimes committed +by Stalin. However, on April 4, 1956, an article entitled “Our Pain +and Our Solace” appeared in the Warsaw Yiddish-language newspaper +_Folks-Shtimme_, which charged that Jewish culture had been largely +liquidated under Stalin and many Jewish leaders executed. To date these +allegations have never been denied by the Kremlin and American communists +have reluctantly accepted them as true. On April 13, 1956, the East Coast +communist paper, the _Daily Worker_, in an editorial entitled “Grievous +Deeds,” made mention of the earlier Polish “disclosures ... that a large +number of Jewish writers and other Jewish leaders were framed up and +executed and that Jewish culture was virtually wiped out” in the Soviet +Union. These monstrous deeds of anti-Semitism in Russia have had profound +repercussions among communists in the United States. + +No single event in Party history so unnerved communists abroad—and inside +Russia too—as did the Khrushchev attack. Where did it leave communist +leaders who year after year had fawned upon Stalin as the greatest of all +leaders? Weren’t they also responsible for such terrible perversions? +What was this system called communism, represented as noble, when its +chief exponent was a murderer, falsifier, and bigot? + +History alone can tell the reasons for, and the ultimate effects of, this +violent denunciation. We know about the growing unrest within Russia and +the eagerness of the government to appease demands for a higher standard +of living. We know how communists like to find scapegoats on whom they +can place the people’s hate and distrust, especially if the scapegoat is +dead. We know of the jealous jockeying for power that is inevitable in +any communist hierarchy. + +Moreover, there also appeared to be an effort to rid communism of +the growing “dead hand” of Stalin who, in his old age, had become +capriciously tyrannical and personally maniacal. His successors saw +how this crust of sludge, through fear, terror, and ossification of +communist doctrine, was crushing initiative. + +But the essential elements of Stalinism, brutality, illegality, +ruthlessness, remain. In October, 1956, the Hungarians revolted against +their puppet government, only to be violently attacked by Soviet tanks +and troops. Nothing could illustrate better the unrepentant Soviet +heart. Moscow still firmly controls her satellite empire. Nowhere in +a communist country have truly free elections been held. Communist +subversion against the free world continues. Atheism remains a dominant +doctrine. Unremitting support for Moscow is still demanded of communists +everywhere. Speaking before the East German Parliament, Khrushchev made +this point clear by stressing the “holy duty” of every communist to help +strengthen the communist world. + +Apparently realizing he had gone too far in criticizing Stalin, +Khrushchev backed up and started to praise the late dictator, showing +that in actual fact Khrushchevism was actually Stalinism in a different +dress. At a diplomatic reception in Moscow in early 1957, Khrushchev +commented boldly: + + As a Communist fighting for the interest of the working class, + Stalin was a model Communist.... We have criticized Stalin, + we still criticize him, and if necessary we will do it again. + But we do not criticize Stalin as a bad Communist as far as + the interests of the working classes are concerned.... God + grant that every Communist should fight for the interest of the + working class as Stalin did. + +What can we expect in the future? Let Khrushchev himself answer: “Those +who expect us to abandon communism will have to wait until a shrimp +learns to whistle.” + +“What will the [Soviet] policy be like?... We will do the same, but with +more emphasis.” + +This is the enemy we face today. + + + + +4. + +_How U.S. Communism Began, 1919-21_ + + +The world-wide dangers of the communist conspiracy started with the +Russian revolution in 1917. There and then, for the first time, a +communist party seized control of a nation. Almost immediately this +conspiracy spread to the United States, seeking to take root by +undermining our institutions and traditions. + +The Communist Party, USA, first emerged in Chicago, Illinois, in 1919. In +the beginning it seemed little more than a freak. Yet in the intervening +years that freak has grown into a powerful monster endangering us all. +Here is the story: + +An emergency convention of the Socialist Party was scheduled to begin in +Machinists’ Hall, 113 South Ashland Boulevard, Chicago, on August 30, +1919. The air was charged with tension. The socialists were badly split. +The left wing, thrilled by the Russian October Revolution, wanted to +establish a Communist Party. The rightists opposed. + +The procommunist left-wingers, however, could not agree on a program of +action. One group wanted to use the emergency convention to take over the +Socialist Party. Another group objected, wanting to set up a Communist +Party right away. + +A battle quickly developed. Men famous in the history of American +communism—Benjamin Gitlow, John Reed, Charles Ruthenberg, Alfred +Wagenknecht—were present. Each was trying to assemble followers for his +point of view. + +One group, the Reed-Gitlow group, refused entrance to the Socialist +Convention, retired to another room in Machinists’ Hall (later to the IWW +Hall, 129 Throop Street), and on August 31, 1919, founded the _Communist +Labor Party of America_ (CLP). Wagenknecht was named Executive Secretary. +(John Reed, incidentally, was to become the Party’s first “martyr.” An +American, well-educated, a poet, writer and newspaperman, Reed was in +Russia during the October Revolution. Completely captivated, he wrote +a book, _Ten Days That Shook the World_. He later returned to Moscow, +participated in Comintern meetings, and died there in 1920. Reed was +buried in the Kremlin.) + +A rival group, together with a number of foreign-language federations, +met at Smolny Hall, headquarters of the Russian Federation, 1221 Blue +Island Avenue, Chicago. Its members criticized the Communist Labor Party +as not being truly communistic. The CLP returned the retort, and all +attempts at reconciliation failed. On September 1, 1919, this rival group +formed the _Communist Party of America_ (CP). Split off was a group from +Michigan that was later to form the Proletarian Party. Ruthenberg was +chosen as Executive Secretary of the CP. + +Not one but two Parties, the CLP and the CP, each claiming to be the true +representative of communism and bitterly maligning the other, came out +of the Chicago turmoil. The CLP set up headquarters in Cleveland, the +CP in Chicago. The Communist Party was born in America amid confusion, +bickering, and partisanship, a condition that was to haunt it for years. + +The communists of 1919 were a motley lot, vastly different from the +highly disciplined, efficiently operating Party of recent years. Though +not lacking zeal or fanaticism, they had little Party training or +discipline. They varied in extremes from bitter die-hards, who were +ready to do anything for the “cause,” even throw a bomb or lead a riot, +to comical show-offs, attracted by violent language and subversive +possibilities. Many believed revolution in the United States was imminent. + +The great majority were foreign-born. Many had difficulty speaking +English. _The Communist_ (June 12, 1920) states: “The Communist Party, +from the very beginning of its existence, found its work hampered because +it had in its ranks only a few men capable of expressing Communist +principles in the English language.” The comrades lacked a practical +understanding of American affairs, especially in the trade union field. +Soon all kinds of wild-eyed plans arose. Each leader became his own +interpreter of Marx and Lenin. Cliques, quarrels, and personal rivalries +were rife. + +The Russians (those who had been born in the “home of the revolution”) +thought they should play the predominant role. They argued: Wasn’t +Lenin a Russian? Didn’t the revolution start in Russia? Hence they, the +Russian-born, obviously had an “insight” denied all the others. They +should be the leaders. + +On one point, however, all agreed: obedience to Soviet Russia. Every +communist considered Lenin a god and the Russian Bolsheviks models of +perfection. These were the men who had made the October Revolution. They +were the teachers; the Americans, the learners. Soviet Russia, at this +time, was assuming an authority over communists in this nation that it +has never relinquished. This control was to become ever more pronounced, +inescapable, and dangerous. + +The history of the Communist Party in the United States since 1919 is +characterized by two main trends: (1) the development of a disciplined +Party structure or, in the words of William Z. Foster, “the building of +a Leninist Party of a new type,” and (2) the complete and unquestioning +subservience of the Party to Soviet Russia. Every word and deed, hope and +aspiration, of American communists over the years has promoted these two +objectives. + +The conventions of the CLP and CP were over, but “civil war” continued. +Communists roamed the country, denouncing each other. + +Just a few weeks after the Chicago conventions Charles Ruthenberg, +Executive Secretary of the Communist Party (the “American Lenin,” who +died in 1927 and whose ashes lie buried in the Kremlin), mounted a +platform in Minneapolis, Minnesota. + +He began his address. The Communist Party was the heir of the +revolutionary spirit and its rival, the Communist Labor Party, was wrong. +The CLP, he charged, was “centrist,” a vile word to communists, just like +the Party in Germany where the communists had failed. But _his_ group, +the Communist Party, was without sin. It represented the thoughts of the +victorious Bolshevik Party of Soviet Russia. + +When would the revolution come? Ruthenberg did not know; tomorrow or next +week. But he was optimistic. The communists, he said, had better hurry to +learn how to run the government. + +Communist Labor Party orators replied in kind. They denounced their +opponents. They alone held the sacred communist truth. Splinter factions, +and they were many, raised their voices. They attacked everybody but +themselves. American communism in these early days was bedlam. + +There were other complications. Just a few weeks after the founding +conventions, in the fall of 1919, the federal government and local +authorities initiated prosecutive action against the communists. + +As a consequence the communist movement went underground. Comrades met in +secret hide-outs, maintained underground headquarters, and sent messages +by couriers. Hidden printing presses poured out propaganda. + +Underground or not, the “civil war” continued. The cramped quarters +did not hinder the oratorical artillery. The inter-Party strife became +fantastically bitter. + +Moscow did not like either this bickering or the enforced underground +work. The Kremlin wanted a single, unified Party, able to operate legally +(above ground) as well as illegally (underground). Communism simply could +not thrive on factional fights or in stuffy undercover cellars. + +Moscow intervened through the Third International, an organization +designed by the Soviets to control Communist Parties in other nations and +to serve as an instrument of world revolution. The founding Congress of +the Comintern, which opened March 2, 1919, in the Kremlin, was a bizarre +affair. + +The “delegates” were chiefly make-believe, picked from prisoners of war, +visitors in Moscow, or “rubber-stamp” friends. The main problem was to +find as many nationalities as possible. This was an “international” +organization. That these individuals were not truly representative of +their “home” groups did not matter. England was “represented” by a +Russian emigré; Hungary by a prisoner of war. + +The proceedings were impromptu. It is related that Lenin, during one +session, sent Angelica Balabanoff (later to become General Secretary of +the Comintern) a note on a scrap of paper instructing her to take the +floor and announce the affiliation of the Italian Socialist Party with +the International. She replied that she could not. She had not been in +contact with Italian Socialists. They were “loyal.” There was no doubt of +that, but she could not speak for them. + +Lenin’s answer was prompt, scribbled in another note: “You read _Avanti_ +[their newspaper] and you know what is going on in Italy.” + +The Comintern soon became a powerful weapon of communist control. The +Second World Congress of the Communist International, held in Russia +during July-August, 1920, adopted the notorious twenty-one points of +admission for Comintern membership. These were basic rules that every +Communist Party must accept before being admitted. The twenty-one points +established an ironclad discipline, a single type of Party structure from +which there could be no dissent. Here are some of the conditions: + + —All party publications must have communist editors. + + —If communists cannot carry out their work legally, “a + combination of legal and illegal work is absolutely necessary.” + + —Vigorous and systematic communist propaganda must be carried + on in the army. If forbidden by law, it must be pursued + illegally. + + —Each Communist Party must develop communist agitation in rural + areas, within trade unions, workers’ councils, and other mass + organizations. + + —“Parties belonging to the Communist International must be + built upon the principle of democratic centralism,” that is, + “organized in the most centralized manner,” controlled by + “iron discipline,” and with a leadership possessing power and + authority. + + —Parties operating legally must “make periodical cleanings” of + the membership to weed out dissenters. + + —“Every party that desires to belong to the Communist + International must give every possible support to the Soviet + Republics in their struggle against all counter-revolutionary + forces.” + + —“All decisions of the Congresses of the Communist + International, as well as the decisions of its Executive + Committee, are binding on all parties affiliated to the + Communist International.” + +Here is the final, clinching point: + + —“Members of the Party who reject the conditions and theses of + the Communist International, on principle, must be expelled + from the party.” + +The Comintern made its position clear: either join on its terms, +involving complete surrender, or become a renegade. Later congresses +elaborated on this communist discipline. In July, 1921, for example, +an order was issued by the Comintern Executive Committee that national +congresses were to be held after the Comintern congresses so that they +could ratify decisions. The Fourth Congress (1922) ruled that all +Comintern delegates should arrive in Moscow uninstructed. Lenin was +determined to make the Comintern the iron fist that controlled communism +throughout the world. + +The Third International exercised supervision not only by instructing +American communists who flocked to Moscow but by sending representatives, +or “reps” as they were called, to this country. These individuals would +openly sit in communist meetings, participate in decisions, and issue +orders. The “reps” represented Moscow, and that fact alone was proof of +their communist “divinity.” + +The Comintern “reps” contributed to a picturesque period in the history +of American communism. Many were riffraff European Bolsheviks, of various +nationalities, themselves knowing little about communism, who were +hurriedly dispatched to the United States. Often, by their inept actions, +they made American leaders more confused than ever. To gain admittance +to the United States, they often used fake names, false passports, and +special “covers.” + +This sounds like a crude system, and, in the light of present-day +communist “diplomacy,” it was. Nobody would imagine an official Soviet +representative so identified in today’s communist meetings or American +communists openly going to Moscow to receive instructions. This “crudity” +has been polished. The same channels of communication are still open, but +more “professional” ways of supervision have been perfected. + +Soon after the 1919 founding conventions, the Executive Committee of the +Communist International sent a letter to the two underground Parties, the +CP and CLP. The split, said the Comintern, had harmed the communist cause +in the United States. Unity must be established “in the shortest possible +time.” The letter recommended the calling of a joint convention. The +condition for unity was acceptance of the program of the Comintern. + +This meant that personalities must be submerged, cliques ousted, and a +uniform, standardized structure instituted. The concepts of a small, +tightly knit Party (as taught by Lenin) must be put into practice. The +Russian mentality must be imposed on _every_ Party member. The Comintern +was emphatic: + + ... unity is not only possible, but absolutely necessary. The + Executive Committee categorically insists on its immediate + realization. + +In May, 1920, a “unity” convention of the Communist Labor Party and +a faction (led by Ruthenberg) of the Communist Party was secretly +held at Bridgman, Michigan, resulting in the formation of the United +Communist Party of America (UCP). The delegates, as a security measure, +used assumed names. _The Communist_, in a special convention issue, +was secretive: “Sometime recently, somewhere between the Atlantic and +Pacific, between the Gulf and the Great Lakes, two groups of elected +delegates assembled as the Unity Conference of the Communist Party and +the Communist Labor Party.” A Comintern “rep” was present. + +Many elements of the Communist Party, however, refused to go along and +boycotted the new UCP. A chief point of dispute between the CP and +CLP was the position of the foreign-language federations: should they +be autonomous within the Party, having the right, if they desired, to +withdraw, or be completely subject to the will of the Party? This issue +touched the very heart of communist doctrine. No Communist Party could +ever allow a member the “right” to withdraw. The misguided members +seeking to retain some of these “rights” were swimming upstream, destined +to failure. + +Finally in May, 1921, after another year of bickering, the UCP and the +remainder of the CP formed the Communist Party of America, Section of the +Communist International, at a secret two-week convention at Woodstock, +New York. The group’s program, among other things, provided that the +Communist Party would work for violent revolution, preparing “the workers +for armed insurrection as the only means of overthrowing the capitalist +state.” The convention officially accepted the twenty-one points for +admission to the Comintern. The CP was now a complete prisoner of Moscow. + +By early 1921 an “outward” unity was achieved in the communist movement, +but the second problem still remained: bringing the Party into the open. +The Third Congress of the Comintern (June-July, 1921) defined the problem: + + The Communist International draws the attention of the + Communist Party of America (unified) to the fact that the + illegalized organization must not only serve as the ground for + collecting and crystallizing the active Communist forces, but + that it is the Party’s duty to try all ways and means to get + out of the illegalized condition into the open, among the wide + masses. + +The outline of the Party of today was beginning to take shape, the true +Party conceived by Lenin, having both a legal and illegal apparatus. The +legal aspect would be necessary to conduct communist propaganda among the +noncommunist masses, to infiltrate organizations and operate communist +fronts. But the underground must exist, for the revolution, the final +aim of the Party, could never be anything but illegal. The underground +apparatus would handle espionage, super-secret Party work, and would +always be ready to expand if the legal Party, because of “capitalist” +opposition, could not operate fully. The Communist Party at all times has +desired both an upper and a lower level. + +In December, 1921, the Workers Party of America was formed, a “legal” +outlet for the underground Communist Party. The founding convention, +held in New York City, was organized, controlled, and directed by +Party leaders. Acting as a front for the underground communists, the +Workers Party set up “open” headquarters, issued a “public” paper, and +operated in full view. The communist movement now had a dual setup: the +underground Communist Party, affiliated with the Third International in +Moscow, commonly known among members as _Number One_, and the Workers +Party, not so affiliated, known as _Number Two_. They were, however, the +two faces of the same communist coin. + +Those were turbulent days in the American communist movement. Party +leaders were grotesque characters, making speeches in underground +meetings, sitting in secret conventions (sometimes in the middle of +woods), or traveling to Moscow. They usually had several aliases for +use on fake passports and in Party correspondence or to be given to the +police if arrested. + +Their obsessive love was Soviet Russia. Communists of all varieties +streamed to Moscow. William Z. Foster, Earl Browder, Jay Lovestone, +Benjamin Gitlow, John Reed, “Mother” Bloor visited there. Many had +business: to attend Comintern meetings, to serve as “representatives” of +the American Party, to enroll in a communist school. Others went as plain +sight-seers, to view at first hand this land of “paradise.” Sometimes +whole groups would go, as for example a delegation that sailed in 1927 to +celebrate the tenth anniversary of the revolution. + +The visitors were received cordially and treated well unless reason +existed to the contrary. Some actually got to see the great Lenin. +William Z. Foster, telling of seeing Lenin for the first time in 1921, +commented that “It was one of the most inspiring moments” of his life. +They attended Comintern Congresses, talked to high Party officials, +looked around the town. They were being primed for their roles, puppets +to fight the communist battle in America. + +Then back they came to tell their comrades of the marvels of this new +land. In speeches all over the country they shouted communist propaganda: + + Russia is the only “real democracy” on earth; the working + people are better off in Russia than in America. + +Never has the American communist movement expressed itself in more +revolutionary, violent, and bitter terms than in the early 1920’s. Party +leaders shunned the cautious, evasive double talk of today’s communists. +They believed in violent revolution and said so. The underground +communist press was filled with revolutionary statements. One journal +tried to outdo the other in the use of violent language. + +The Party was controlled, just as it is today, by a very few. Moreover, +policy, at all times, was subject to the approval of the Kremlin, acting +through the Comintern. Loyal Americans should always remember that the +Communist Party, USA, has never existed as an independent organization. +Soviet control was instituted at the very beginning. Acceptance of the +twenty-one points confirmed the imprisonment. + +Party business of the underground apparatus and the above-ground Workers +Party was supervised by the Secretariat, a group usually consisting +of three of the most trusted leaders. A larger group, the Political +Committee of some seven to ten comrades, handled many of the Party’s +day-to-day affairs, such as manipulating a strike, designating a new +Party official, planning infiltration tactics. The Secretariat, elected +by the Political Committee, however, handled the most confidential +matters, items not even brought to the attention of the Political +Committee: the safeguarding of records, receipt of subsidies from abroad, +maintaining contact with Russian espionage agents. These activities were +too confidential even to be mentioned in minutes. + +Relations between the Comintern in Moscow and American communists were +almost like those between feudal lord and serf. Moscow wanted to know +everything: the background of Party leaders, how a certain strike was +getting along, the strength of the Party in various localities. The +“reps” did not hesitate to criticize. In one Political Committee meeting +a letter from the Comintern “rep” was read. It contained the following +criticisms: + + —Lack of information received relative to the Party convention; + + —The Party’s campaign on a certain issue, though going well, + was not strong enough. The “rep” recommended a pamphlet be + written; + + —Editorials in the _Daily Worker_ [the Party’s newspaper] were + politically incorrect; + + —The Party had not taken a correct position against certain + enemies of Russia. + +The minutes of the meeting indicate that a motion made to accept the +letter was “carried unanimously.” The Comintern’s influence was felt in +practically every communist meeting. Every move of the American Party +was watched from Moscow. No wonder a joke making Party rounds went +as follows: Why is the Party like the Brooklyn Bridge? Because it is +suspended on cables! + +Besides controlling its over-all policy, the Comintern used the Communist +Party in a variety of ways, especially to help the new Soviet government +in its work. In one instance the Comintern sent over a “rep” known as +Comrade Loaf. He sent a statement, which was read at the meeting of the +Political Committee in New York City presided over by Max Bedacht, +as Acting General Secretary, outlining his need for assistance in +collecting information on the American labor movement for the Communist +International. The Political Committee agreed to help. + +In another instance, Moscow referred a request for a visa by an official +of the New York _Jewish Daily Forward_ to United States comrades. Moscow +in these years often used the Communist Party in the United States as a +consular clearinghouse, seeking its advice as to whether visas should +be granted or denied. In answering this request, the already inherent +anti-Semitism of communism dictated the decision. The Soviets were +advised that the visit of the _Jewish Daily Forward_ representative would +be detrimental to the Soviet Union and the communist movement. + +On occasions, also, the Comintern helped the Party by arranging to +receive cordially American visitors sponsored by the Party, thereby +hoping to create a favorable impression of communism. A prominent +author, for example, desired to visit Russia for _The Modern Quarterly_. +The Political Committee instructed that a letter be written to Moscow +requesting that he be given a royal welcome. The Party wanted him to be +favorably impressed. Then, it hoped, he would “paint a glowing picture” +of the Soviet Union. + +Russian control, moreover, was implemented through the operation of +another institution, the Lenin School in Moscow. This training center was +an adjunct to the Marxist-Leninist Institute. Founded in the 1920’s, the +Lenin School had for its purpose the training of an international corps +of communist leaders. These graduates, regardless of the country in which +they operated, acted in accordance with the discipline and policies of +the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. + +Each Communist Party was assigned a quota of students. To be eligible, +students had to have a working-class background with experience in a +trade, shop, or union. They had to be under thirty-five years of age, +either a charter member or a member with at least five years’ experience +in Party work, and possess a “clean” Party record. The Comintern studied +the students’ background and approved those selected by the Party to +attend. As a general rule, students traveled to Moscow under assumed +names and with fraudulently obtained passports. + +The original Lenin School was located in an old Czarist palace. Students +and faculty lived under strict security conditions. The curriculum +included not only Marxist-Leninist tactics but the theory and practice of +organization, underground and conspiratorial operations, and the tactics +of revolution and civil war. The students were taught how to erect stout +barricades, conduct guerrilla warfare, and handle firearms. The Soviets +wanted rough-and-ready revolutionists, men who would kill, murder, blow +up trains, and start revolutions. + +Many of the top leaders in Communist Parties around the world are +graduates of the Lenin School. The National Committee of the Communist +Party in the United States today includes such graduates of the Lenin +School as Eugene Dennis, Claude Lightfoot, Carl Winter, Simon W. Gerson, +William Weinstone, Nat Ganley, Steve Nelson, and others. Former Lenin +School graduates also include such well-known communists as Betty +Gannett, Gus Hall, Albert Lannon, Phil Bart, Rose Wortis, Loretta Stack, +Henry Winston, and numerous others. The Lenin School became so notorious +that it, like the Comintern, was discontinued. After all, it had turned +out thousands of graduates, and the communists probably thought it had +fulfilled its usefulness. + +The American Communist Party began to grow up. From an infant, mostly +mouth and little body, it gradually began to take on shape and form. It +was soon to increase its participation in American life. + + + + +5. + +_The Party Grows Up_ + + +Prior to 1921 communists in the United States had been so concerned with +their own private squabbles and organizational problems that they had +little time for external activities. + +After the 1921 “unification,” however, the Party, although still +weak, emerged with greater stability. It was now being equipped with +two striking arms: (1) the underground Party apparatus and (2) the +above-ground, or “false-face,” apparatus of the Workers Party. + +The time was ripe for communists to move in on American life and American +institutions. The first objective was organized labor. Later the +battlefront was to be extended to include all aspects of American life up +to and including activities of the federal government in Washington. + +Prior to 1921, by their own admission, communists had not been +particularly effective among trade unions. True, William Z. Foster +had helped found the Trade Union Educational League in 1920, but this +communist-dominated group had made little headway. The Party at that +time had lacked the discipline and training to exploit strikes. Its aims +were usually visionary and, above all, too openly revolutionary. During +the 1919 steel strike, for example, the Communist Party had issued this +proclamation: + + THE WORKERS MUST CAPTURE THE POWER OF THE STATE. THEY MUST + WREST FROM THE CAPITALISTS THE MEANS THROUGH WHICH CAPITALIST + RULE IS MAINTAINED. + + The answer to the Dictatorship of the Capitalists is the + Dictatorship of the Workers. + +No wonder the Party was left in complete isolation. Such impractical +statements were but noise and scared away normal trade-union people. + +But the communists soon learned. Gradually they worked their way into +trade unions, and under the name of the Workers Party propagated their +program. Little by little they became more active above ground. In 1924 +the Workers Party nominated, as candidates in the presidential elections, +William Z. Foster as President; Benjamin Gitlow, Vice-President. In 1925, +becoming still more bold, the Workers Party changed its name to the +Workers (Communist) Party. The underground Party in the sense of being +a separate organization was discontinued, although, as in all Communist +Parties, a small underground was maintained. In 1928 communist candidates +in the presidential elections polled almost 50,000 votes Finally, in +1929, by discarding the word “Workers,” the camouflage was dropped, and +the Party became known as the Communist Party of the United States of +America. + +During these years the communists multiplied labor troubles and +participated in a number of strikes, such as the textile strikes in +Passaic, New Jersey (1926); New Bedford, Massachusetts (1928); and +Gastonia, North Carolina (1929); as well as the coal strike of 1922, the +railroad shopmen’s strike of 1922, and the New York furriers’ strike +of 1926. Moreover, they were becoming more active in other agitational +fields, such as economic problems, race relations, and nationality +groups. The Party, now becoming stronger, was testing its wings in mass +agitational work. + +Meanwhile the Comintern was developing the type of Party it wanted +in America. Gradually many contradictory policies and personality +conflicts were eliminated. But important differences still existed. Many +communists, for example, thought the Party should remain underground. +They opposed founding the Workers Party. In one phase of this fight +the communists were divided into three groups, known as the Geese, the +Liquidators, and the Conciliators. Another dispute involved the proper +method of infiltrating labor unions, with some members being uncertain +how far the Party should go to the “left” or to the “right.” In 1923 a +bitter struggle developed between factions headed by Charles Ruthenberg +and William Z. Foster. + +In 1928 and 1929, acting under Comintern instructions, the Communist +Party conducted its first big “purges,” the mass expulsion of large +groups of members. In 1928 James P. Cannon, an old-time communist leader, +was expelled from the Party for possessing Trotskyite tendencies, a +reflection of the Stalin-Trotsky fight in Russia. The Cannonites later +formed a new party, the Socialist Workers Party, loyal to Trotsky. In +1929 the purge was even more severe. Jay Lovestone, Executive Secretary +of the Party, and Benjamin Gitlow, a high-ranking charter member, were +expelled. + +Stalin took a personal interest in the American situation. Speaking in +May, 1929, to the American Commission of the Presidium of the Executive +Committee of the Communist International, he started the line that the +communists were to revive after World War II, and asserted that the +United States was heading toward a depression that would develop a +revolutionary situation. + + I think the moment is not far off when a revolutionary crisis + will develop in America.... It is essential that the American + Communist Party should be capable of meeting that historical + moment fully prepared and of assuming the leadership of the + impending class struggle in America. Every effort and every + means must be employed in preparing for that, comrades. For + that end the American Communist Party must be improved and + bolshevized. For that end we must work for the complete + liquidation of factionalism and deviations in the Party. For + that end we must work for the reestablishment of unity in the + Communist Party of America. + +The Russians, by disciplinary purges, were hammering out a Party “of a +new type,” or, in the words of Stalin, bolshevizing it. + +In the 1930’s, with the beginnings of the depression, the Communist Party +broadened its propaganda-agitation work. Economic disorder was exploited. +The Party organized parades, hunger marches, petition campaigns, mass +demonstrations. It plunged with vigor into strikes such as the San +Francisco general strike of 1934 and the textile and bituminous coal +strikes of 1934-35. In November, 1935, the Congress of Industrial +Organizations (CIO) was launched, and communists attempted to burrow +themselves in its member unions. In addition, they attempted to convert +members of other labor unions, minority groups, especially Negroes and +individuals recently arrived in the country. + +The Party increased in numbers. By 1930, after the great “purges,” +membership stood at 7500. By 1935 it had jumped to 30,000, and to 80,000 +in 1944. The Young Communist League, the youth organization of the Party, +reached 20,000 by 1938. Communist “cells” were being formed in industrial +plants, and Party members had infiltrated governmental positions, some +even carrying out espionage. Intra-Party struggles had ceased, with Earl +Browder, a native of Kansas, being elected in 1930 as General Secretary. +He was to remain “in power” until 1945. Step by step the Party was +becoming stabilized, developing its agitation and propaganda functions. +Disciplinary machinery maintained “unity” and “correctness of views.” +This was a period of accepting new members, broadening struggles, and +strengthening organizational structure. + +In 1935 the Seventh World Congress of the Comintern, meeting in Moscow, +initiated the “united-front” policy, which provided that communists +should work with other groups against fascism. Since 1933 Hitler had +become the principal target of Soviet Russia. The Bolsheviks, fearing +German military power, desperately attempted to enlist the support of the +noncommunist world against the Nazis. Russia joined the League of Nations +and became a strong supporter of the “collective security” program aimed +at holding Hitler in check. Fascism, the communists shouted, represented +a danger to everybody, communist and noncommunist. All must work +together. + +The “united front” is an old Leninist tactic designed to prepare for +revolutionary situations. Internationally, the aim is to protect +the Soviet fatherland. On a local level it gives the communists an +opportunity to infiltrate, manipulate, and take over organizations. +Noncommunists are encouraged to participate in communist campaigns with +the Party, which always keeps in mind the best way to advance its own +interests. If a united-front tactic does not promote communism, it is +dropped. A new approach is then developed. + +The prewar period was the time of great communist fronts in which so +many innocent victims were caught. Literally hundreds of organizations, +such as the American Youth Congress, American League Against War and +Fascism (later known as the American League for Peace and Democracy), +the American Peace Mobilization, and the National Negro Congress sprang +into existence. They were created or captured by the communists. All +were tailored, through high-sounding names, to attract as many people +as possible; the communists had something to offer everybody. The Party +during these years moved literally thousands of Americans, causing +them, in some way or other, to support the communist cause. Their +thought-control nets were busy at work, as will be shown later. + +In 1936 the Spanish Civil War erupted, and the communists in the United +States, amid great fanfare, sent about 3000 “volunteers,” commonly known +as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, to aid the Spanish Loyalists. Front +groups of many types were formed to collect money, supplies, and medical +aid. Those Americans who were the leaders in the movement to send other +Americans, of whom some 50 per cent never returned, had no interest as +such in either the Franco group or the opposing Loyalist government. They +were acting, along with international communism, to advance the Bolshevik +cause. + +American communists used glittering promises, under-handed tricks, and +downright fraud to coax young men to go to Spain. An enlistee might +be promised a lucrative position in Spain, cash rewards, or travel +accommodations. A young girl would entice unsuspecting men; in return +for her favors they would promise to enlist. If necessary, fictitious +passports were obtained or enlistees were stowed away on boats. An +elaborate “convoy” system was established, individuals being taken from +the United States, usually through France, to Spain. Any tactic was used +to gain fighting manpower for the communist cause. + +The events of World War II were to demonstrate clearly the loyalty of a +now disciplined Communist Party to Soviet Russia. In August, 1939, the +entire world was shocked: Hitler and Stalin had signed a “nonaggression” +pact! Here was Moscow making an agreement with that “Fascist beast,” +Hitler, whom it had denounced in bitter terms. + +In a few days the pact’s full meaning became clear. Hitler had made a +“deal.” German forces invaded Poland. The Russians, much more quietly, +moved from the east. Poland was partitioned and Russia annexed a large +slice of Polish territory. Hitler now turned toward the west, his “back” +secure. + +The Soviets were now in the role of “defenders of the peace” and everyone +else was an “imperialist warmonger.” If Stalin did it, well, it was +right. Hitler, the former enemy, now became a friend and ally. The war +between Germany and the Western Allies was termed an “imperialist” war, +with no support for the Allies. There was opposition to lend-lease, the +draft and military production, support of strikes, circulation of antiwar +literature. “The Yanks Are Not Coming” was the slogan. Russia’s war on +Finland in 1939-40? That was different. That was not imperialism, said +the communists. Round-the-clock marchers picketed the White House, urging +that the United States stay out of the European war. The pickets were +suddenly disbanded on June 21, 1941. A change in tactics seemed imminent. + +The next day, June 22, 1941, the Germans attacked Soviet Russia. The +European conflict now became a “patriotic war,” a “people’s war.” The +United States must lend support: war matériel, money, and manpower. +Russia was being overrun. The revolution was in danger. A virtual +nightmare gripped the communists. Employ anything to help the land +of Stalin: lend-lease, a second front, immediately. Strikes must be +stopped. Send relief to Russia. + +All these moves and countermoves are not just history. They stand as an +everlasting warning of the way in which communists in America, whatever +their claims, serve only one master: Moscow. + +Other events in Russia had repercussions in the Communist Party, USA, +as they still do today. In 1943 Moscow dissolved the Comintern. One +purpose was to mollify Western fear and distrust of communism. Russia, +the communists claimed, wanted to be a genuine friend. In 1944, following +the new line, the Communist Party, USA, under Browder’s leadership, +“dissolved”; actually it merely changed its name to the Communist +Political Association (CPA), a “political-educational association.” +Here again the idea was to “soften” opposition to communism, make it +sound a “little better” to Americans. This was the period when Russia +was a military ally and the communists were trying to extract as much +as they could from this country. The best tactic, of course, was to be +“friendly.” The Communist Political Association did not have the harsh, +bugaboo connotations of the “Communist Party,” but it was the same +faithful lackey of Moscow. + +In 1945 the war was over. Hitler was defeated. Moscow reverted to its +former hostile “line”; she denounced the Allies and claimed full credit +for destroying Hitler, and Japan too. Communist Parties, including the +one in America, were told to be more defiant. + +This meant another change for the communists in the United States. +In April, 1945, an article was published in a French communist +journal, _Cahiers du Communisme_, by Jacques Duclos, then Secretary +of the Communist Party of France. Duclos condemned “Browderism,” the +so-called policy of “collaboration” with American capitalism as shown +in the CPA. This was “revisionism,” “opportunism,” and a betrayal of +Marxism-Leninism. What was needed, according to Duclos, was a militant +attack on “capitalism,” not cooperation with it. + +The Duclos article initiated a purge in the Party, the greatest since the +days of Lovestone and Gitlow. Browder became the scapegoat. An emergency +convention of the Communist Political Association was hastily called +and by “unanimous vote,” except Browder’s, re-established the Communist +Party. Browder was suspended from office and later expelled. This man +from Kansas, twenty-five years a faithful servant of the Kremlin, had +served his purpose. Foster became Chairman. + +“Browderism” was regarded by communists as a direct outgrowth of the +Lovestone-Gitlow period. Lovestone had been accused of espousing +“American exceptionalism.” By this the communists meant that he viewed +American capitalism as something “exceptional,” not obeying the +Marxist-Leninist laws, which teach that capitalism, because of internal +contradictions, will decay. Lovestone believed that American capitalism +was too strong to follow these Marxist rules. + +Browder, according to his communist critics, also fell into a similar +error. He overestimated the power of American capital and believed that, +through planning, America could overcome for some time its economic +problems. This theory of “organized capitalism,” these opponents said, +was wrong. It revised Marxist principles, weakened the communist +movement, and betrayed the “socialist future.” + +After 1945 the Communist Party, using Browderism as a weapon, entered +into a new period of consolidation and loyalty to Soviet Russia. The +Party apparatus was tightened and discipline strengthened. Security +commissions, with almost unlimited powers, tested the “loyalty” of +members and many were expelled. Increased restrictions on the admittance +of new members were set up. The Party press, following the Moscow tack, +inveighed against American “imperialism” and heaped abuse on the Marshall +Plan, the Greece-Turkey Aid program, and the organization of a West +European defense organization. The old-time Stalinist, William Z. Foster, +was welding the Party into an anti-American weapon of the cold war. + +In 1948, for the first time since the 1920’s, the Party found itself +on the defensive when the Department of Justice initiated prosecution +against its leaders. The twelve members of the Party’s National Board +were indicted under the Smith Act (enacted in 1940), which prohibits any +conspiracy that advocates the overthrow of the United States government +by force and violence. Previously, in 1941, the government had instituted +prosecutions against members of the Socialist Workers Party (Trotskyites) +under this statute. Other statutes since used by the government in the +attack on the Party include the Internal Security Act of 1950 and the +Communist Control Act of 1954. + +In a long trial, running through most of 1949, eleven members were +convicted, the twelfth, William Z. Foster, having been severed from the +trial because of illness. In June, 1951, the Supreme Court upheld these +convictions, and the government subsequently took prosecutive action +against additional Party leaders. + +This government prosecution was a strong disabling blow against the +Party. Many of its top leaders were arrested and convicted. Others +lived in fear of arrest. As a result the Party to a large extent went +underground in the first large-scale underground operation since the +early 1920’s. Party offices were closed, top Party leaders went into +hiding, records were destroyed. Courier systems were instituted and clubs +broken up into small units, if not completely disbanded. For about four +years, from mid-1951 to mid-1955, the Party in protecting itself spent +energy, time, and money that otherwise would have gone into agitation and +propaganda. + +Again, as in previous years, events in Russia determined communist policy +in America. The death of Stalin in 1953 and the advent of Malenkov +brought the “Big Smile” policy from the Soviet bear, which was continued +by Bulganin and Khrushchev. The Communist Party, USA, weakened and +largely immobilized in its underground haunts, welcomed the new line. +Then, in the summer of 1955, came the Geneva Conference. The Party, +sensing a new “political climate,” began to come above ground. Quietly +communist leaders reappeared in public, many courier systems were +discontinued, and most underground hideaways abolished. By the spring +of 1956 most of the Party’s underground had been curtailed and even +the communist leaders who had become fugitives from justice began to +surrender. This experiment in underground strategy had cost the Party +severely. + +Now, however, the Party was faced with severe problems of internal +disorganization and factionalism. Many Party members had left the +movement. Administrative affairs were in a state of chaos. Invaluable +records had been destroyed. Party leaders, returning from underground +assignments, found that they were often ignored by the ruling hierarchy. +Money was scarce. Footholds in noncommunist organizations, such as labor +unions, had largely been lost. + +Then came Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin and charges of +anti-Semitism in Russia. In the fall of 1956 came the bloody Soviet +intervention in Hungary. No events since the German-Russian nonaggression +pact of 1939 had so gravely shaken the Party. Stalin, the man the +comrades had revered so long, was proved to be a murderer, thief, and +liar. Communist leaders in the United States were stunned and aghast. +Immediately, different opinions developed as to the Party’s future +policy—opinions that gave rise to severe leadership differences. + +One group, headed by William Z. Foster, although accepting Khrushchev’s +denunciations, emphasized what “good” Stalin had done for the communist +movement. These were the so-called Stalinists, who wanted as few changes +as possible in the Party organization. Opposing Foster was a faction +headed by John Gates, editor of the _Daily Worker_, who openly advocated +disbandment of the Party and establishment of a political association. +This action, he argued, would make the Party more palatable to the +general public in light of the severe criticisms. In between, many +middle-of-the-roaders, led by Eugene Dennis, were not sure just what the +Party should do in this, one of its most severe crises. + +In February, 1957, the Party assembled in its Sixteenth National +Convention, the first since 1950. The convention was under the +dictatorial control of a few Party leaders. Much deceitful publicity was +released to demonstrate that the Party had declared its “independence” +of Moscow, that a new leadership had been installed, and that the Party +was entirely American in character. However, Foster and his associates +so effectively manipulated the sessions that the same old Stalinist line +prevailed. + +The Party retained its same old name, continued the majority of its +old leadership; it reaffirmed its adherence to the basic tenets +of Marxism-Leninism; it reaffirmed its acceptance of “proletarian +internationalism”; it refused to condemn or even take a stand on the +Soviet rape of Hungary; it refused to condemn the tyranny and proven +anti-Semitism of the Soviet Union; it did not take a single affirmative +step to declare its independence of the Soviet Union; and, in fact, the +Soviet-controlled press hailed the Communist Party, USA, for remaining +loyal “to the principles of Marxism-Leninism.” + +The Communist Party is a highly disciplined tool of the Soviet Union in +the United States. In the thirty-eight years since it came into being, +it has developed a trained and potentially effective leadership that +overnight, should the situation become favorable, could expand into a +mass organization of great potential power. No longer does it need to +send its promising young leaders to Moscow for training, because its own +educational system is now performing that function. + +The present menace of the Communist Party in the United States grows +in direct ratio to the rising feeling that it is a small, dissident +element and need not be feared. As we relax our protection and ease up on +security measures, we move closer and closer to a “fool’s paradise.” + +Through the Communist Party, the mentality of the Russian Bolsheviks is +being transmitted to America, together with the belief that man can be +completely redesigned from a child of God into a soulless social cog. The +Party member, whether he be a farmer in Missouri, an automobile worker in +Michigan, or a lawyer in California, must be made to think, act, and be +like other Party members. Many techniques, such as discipline, education, +the Party press, recreation, literature, organizational structure, +the arts, are used to fashion the “communist man,” the terror of the +twentieth century. This is the “man” the Kremlin hopes will place the +hammer and sickle above the White House and establish a Soviet America as +part of a world empire, with Soviet Russia as the master of all. This is +the “man” who, in a recent secret Party meeting, admonished the comrades +present that a search of history would show that there has never been +a revolution without force and violence and when the time comes, “We +will hang and shoot those responsible for the type of government we have +today.” + + + + +_Part III_ + +THE COMMUNIST APPEAL IN THE UNITED STATES + + + + +6. + +_Who Are the Communists?_ + + +The Communist Party, USA, works day and night to further the communist +plot in America. Virtually invisible to the noncommunist eye, unhampered +by time, distance, and legality, this bolshevik transmission is in +progress. The Communist Party, USA, is bolshevizing its membership and +creating communist puppets throughout the country. The American Party, in +the Kremlin’s eyes, has for its objective the ultimate seizure of power +in America and, to accomplish this purpose, it seeks to “educate” in the +ways of communism all who will listen. + +To appreciate the deadly seriousness of this process, the American +citizen must see how the Communist Party, USA, by its every act, often +without fanfare or newspaper headlines, is creating a corps of dedicated +Party members, supported in many ways by United States citizens who have +been infected or misled in one way or another. + +Millions of Americans have wondered how the communists gain support. +Frequently they seem to wield influence entirely out of proportion to +their actual numbers. + +Party influence is exerted through the communist device of thought +control (controlling, in various degrees, the thinking of many +Americans). The communists quickly accuse anybody who disagrees with +them of being guilty of thought control; it is a favorite communist +expression. Yet this same technique, applied in varying degrees to +different groups of our population, is the key to communist strength in +America today. + +The Party’s objective is to drive a wedge, however slight, into as many +minds as possible. That is why, in every conceivable way, communists +try to poison our thinking about the issues of the day: social reforms, +peace, politics, veterans’, women’s, and youth problems. The more people +they can influence, the stronger they will be. + +Top Party officials have a definite assignment: to capture positions of +power. They are the Party’s front-line commanders. Communism is at war +with America. The United States is a vast battlefield. A school, a labor +union, a civic group, a government official, a private citizen—all are +important in the never-ending struggle for power. + +The whole nation, to the communists, is a gigantic checker-board. The +communist high command is constantly moving, jumping, switching, and +retreating to get communist members in positions of influence. They are +outnumbered; they know that. That is why they must depend on skill, +maneuvering, and deception. + +The communist official in our country realizes that his supporters +often form a motley collection, varying greatly in loyalty: some are +fanatically loyal; others are half-timers or “single-nighters.” Many +are “tremblers,” needing constant encouragement, whereas some are just +victims unwittingly caught in the Party net. + +But time after time the communists are able to weld these seemingly +ill-assorted supporters into a unified instrument of power. They +have succeeded in creating and dominating different areas of thought +control. Each area contains supporters who, under Party guidance, can +quickly and effectively be mobilized. The result of this manipulation, +as applied to diverse personalities, groups, and issues, is a tribute +to the communists’ deceitful skill. By this technique, using its own +membership as a base, the Party is today influencing literally thousands +of Americans. + +There are five principal areas, or circles, of thought control that +should be thoroughly understood. These are the keys to communist +mobilization to achieve control of the United States. + +1. _“Open” Party members._ The area of highest thought control, which +is the core of communist strength, is the Party membership. These +individuals, after indoctrination, become full-fledged revolutionaries, +pledged to stick with the Party at all times. + +Normally they make no effort to conceal their membership. They may be +high-ranking officials, such as a state chairman, a section organizer, a +club chairman, an educational director, or mere rank-and-file members. +They are enrolled, pay dues, and accept Party discipline. + +The Party member must be completely obedient; that is the hallmark of +Party life. The constitution of the Communist Party, USA, sets forth +specifically this definition of a full-fledged member: + + A Party member shall accept the Party program as determined + by the Constitution and conventions of the Party, belong to a + Party club and pay dues. + +Very clearly, he is a tool of the Party. + +Party policy is built around Party membership. The trained member is one +on whom the Party depends to commit espionage, derail a speeding train, +and organize riots. If asked, gun in hand, to assault the Capitol of +the United States, he will be expected to obey. These members are today +working to promote a Soviet America: some in undercover assignments, some +in communist-front organizations, others as Party officials. They are the +offensive shock troops—confidently expecting that the precise moment will +arrive when conditions will make feasible the revolutionary overthrow of +our government. + +If the Party desires to undertake a certain task, Party members, seen +or unseen, will be the leaders. Suppose that a communist front is to be +started; that is, an organization which is to be maneuvered by the Party. +A communist sympathizer may be named president, but a Party member +will probably be executive secretary, placed there to control policies. +Or suppose a giant rally for “peace” is to be held. The platform will +glitter with noncommunists. But a communist member on hand will control +the agenda. + +The strength of this inner circle, the real backbone of communist +striking power, lies not in numbers but in organized deception. Following +Lenin’s teachings, the Party is a small, compact, and highly mobile group +that can strike quickly with great fury, often achieving objectives +unwarranted by its numbers. Today’s membership is hard, well trained, +and disciplined. The weak, fainthearted, and skeptical have been purged. +Those who remain faithful to the Party are dedicated to the communist +revolution. They are willing to sacrifice everything for it. Here is an +actual case: + + A Party member was given a special assignment. The first step + was to drop everything and go into hiding. That was all he was + told. He obeyed. He took another name, moved away. Time passed. + The children began to ask, “Where is Daddy?” The mother’s + answer: “He is dead. You don’t have a daddy!” + +This is the fanaticism of the trained member. + +To be obedient, however, is not enough. This select group of Party +members must be made superobedient, meaning subservient beyond the hope +of return. They must be constantly whipped into a state of frenzied +enthusiasm and never allowed to relax. The moment a member “lets up” he +is endangered; a noncommunist thought might slip in. He must be made to +think exclusively in Party terms and nothing else. Some Party members are +old-timers; others are new recruits. All of them grew up in capitalist +society. Many still show the effects of their “enemy upbringing,” +especially the younger ones. That is why they slacken once in a while. +They think for themselves; they put self before Party. These instincts +must be pounded out and communist thoughts instilled. Communists are not +born; they are made. For example: + +A Party leader in the Deep South was angry. He was talking to a member +who had “slipped” a little. This individual was not giving his best +effort to the Party, although he had been in the Party for twelve years +and had fought in Spain with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. + +“Work harder for the Party,” was the leader’s theme. “You’ve got to give +more time to the Party than you’re doing now.” + +“And starve,” answered the other man. “I’ve got to keep my job. I can’t +make a living just doing Party work.” + +“Let your wife work,” retorted the official. “That’ll hold you for a +while, or borrow money if need be.” + +“But she can’t make enough. Besides, she wants to keep house.” + +“She’s a drawback,” flashed the leader, “a definite hindrance. What are +you going to do, stand up for the Party or your wife?” + +The question was direct. The individual answered, “What do you want me to +do? Divorce my wife?” + +“If your marriage is such that you can’t work for the Party,” came the +reply, “I’d seriously consider divorce. Your wife is selfish, simply +self-centered. She wants all your time. She doesn’t understand the +movement. She’s interested in her own happiness and security.” + +The communist leader rammed home his point. “I’m working all the time, so +much that I can hardly sleep nights. You can’t allow personal problems to +take your mind off the Party. You’ve got to fight that kind of pressure. +Your allegiance to the Party comes first. I never let my wife interfere. +She knows her place.” + +2. _Concealed Party members._ Another area dominated by communist thought +control consists of the concealed communist, the individual who, though +accepting Party discipline, does not wish his affiliation to be publicly +known. These two areas, open and concealed members, in fact, are closely +related, often interchanging and always cooperating with each other. The +concealed communist, because he is not known as a communist, can often +advance the Party’s cause among people and in organizations where an open +member would be scorned. + +The number of concealed communists is high. They vary in degree of +concealment. Some are concealed from the public and are not openly +identified as communists. Others are concealed even from the membership, +and a few are so deeply hidden that only top leaders know their identity. +Usually the more prominent the individual, the more concealed he must be. + +Concealed communists are found in all fields. They may be enrolled +members, although secretly and usually under an alias or assumed name; or +their names may never appear on official rolls. It does not matter. They +are viewed by Party leaders as members. They are equally as dangerous +as the open member, if not more so. They are difficult to identify and, +being concealed, can operate freely in noncommunist groups. + +A physician, a lawyer, an educator, a personnel manager in a business +firm, a television script writer—each may be a concealed communist of +great value to the Party. Suppose that a Party member is in hiding. He +becomes ill. The doctor, a concealed communist, is called. He can be +trusted. Or a study group is formed on a campus. The professor “guides” +the discussion and subtly engenders communist doctrine. A personnel +manager hires communist sympathizers, working them into key positions. +Party influence increases, almost without anybody’s knowing it. Here is +an example of how the system works: + +Two men huddle in conversation. One is a top Party official; the other, +a high-ranking labor union leader who is a concealed communist, although +his union has since ousted him from his post. + +The national convention of the union is about to open in Philadelphia, +Pennsylvania. The Party official is issuing instructions. Support this, +support that. He talks in great detail, laying down the over-all Party +policy. Then he becomes more specific, even going so far as to dictate +the wording of resolutions, suggesting the order of convention business, +and advising how certain personalities should be handled. Nothing is to +be left to chance. + +The union, leader listens. He can go on the convention floor, since +nobody knows that he is under Party discipline, and carry out the +communist program. This concealed communist is essential to the Party’s +thought-control technique. There are thousands like him always seeking to +penetrate the healthy body of American life and to corrupt it. + +In another case, a top communist leader, long before he fled into +the communist underground, was confronted with the problem of being +identified, for he was well known and his picture had been widely +publicized in the press. He could dye his hair, shave off his mustache, +and lose weight, but he still could be readily identified by a mole on +the right side of his jaw. He went to a physician in a Midwest city, a +reported communist, who operated on the Party leader to remove the mole +from his face. + +Another concealed member of the Party was the editor-in-chief of a +conservative book-publishing house. This editor, having an excellent +educational background, was highly regarded by his company. On one +occasion, after this publishing house had been criticized by a newspaper +columnist for publishing procommunist books, the president discussed the +problem at a meeting of the board of directors. He reported that he had +asked the editor if, in fact, he was a member of the Communist Party. The +editor entered an emphatic denial. The president then advised the board +that since the editor was a gentleman, the allegations that he was a +communist were false. + +The president of the publishing house simply did not know the facts. The +editor’s usual procedure was to have the manuscript of a communist author +submitted directly to him on a personal basis. He would review it, be +sure it was in publishable form, then have the author submit it to the +publishing house through routine channels. Receiving the manuscript later +through the company, he would recommend its publication. Through this +technique, the editor was eminently successful in circulating communist +literature. + +When noncommunist authors complained and several terminated their +relations with the publisher, the editor was later quietly eased out of +his job. + +There are occasions when a member of the Party will drop his open Party +activities, move to another section of the country, and become a secret, +concealed member. Such was the case of a talented young man who became +active in the Communist Party in New York City before World War II when +he was employed by a motion-picture company. After work he functioned as +a Communist Party organizer, later as a membership director of a Party +club, and, for a while, worked on the paid staff of the American Labor +Party. In the meantime he obtained a job in television and in 1953 became +program director of a television station in a large Southern city. + +Soon after his arrival in the Southern city, the TV program director +started to meet secretly with the Party’s “white-collar” professional +group. Word came through that he should sever even these connections, +according to a Party functionary, who said, “We want them [him and his +wife] to be secure for the Party.” He was too valuable a member to +be compromised. The Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, however, +uncovered the white-collar professional cell, and when the TV director +declined to answer Committee questions, he was promptly fired by his +employer. + +3. _Fellow travelers._ The third area in which communist thought control +works is that of the fellow traveler and sympathizer. These two terms are +distinct but related. The fellow traveler, while not a member, actively +supports (travels with) the Party’s program for a period of time. The +sympathizer is more passive, sympathizing with the Party or individual +members on specific issues, and may or may not give active aid. These +individuals are not Party members, but, in some degree, have come under +Party control. + +This control is sufficient to make them work willingly for the Party. +Many consistently follow the Party line, even maintaining personal +contacts with Communist Party officials. Others, the so-called +“intellectuals,” may never have attended a communist meeting and may +know nothing about Party organization. Yet, because of the spell of +communist thought control, they knowingly do the Party’s work. Perhaps +they have been influenced by Marxist writings or the professed aims +of the Party on certain issues. In any case, deluded by communist +propaganda, they desire to render active assistance. + +Fellow travelers and sympathizers, unlike open or concealed communists, +cannot be disciplined. A Party leader may request a favor. If the fellow +traveler or sympathizer agrees, fine; if he doesn’t, the Party cannot do +much except hope to exert more influence next time. + +Moreover, these people are often undependable, donating money, for +example, to one Party function but not another. Sometimes they may be +“hot,” doing just about anything asked. Then suddenly they grow “cold,” +lose interest, and become inactive. + +The value of fellow travelers and sympathizers lies in their alleged +noncommunist affiliation. That is why, in most instances, communist +leaders do not attempt to recruit them into the Party. They are more +valuable outside: as financial contributors, vocal mouthpieces, or +contacts between Party officials and noncommunists. They constitute, in +fact, fronts for, and defenders of, the Communist Party. + +The role these individuals can play for the communists is clearly +illustrated in front organizations, where they serve as sponsors or +officials. Behind the scenes is a communist manipulator. Consider, for +example, one such organization. In October, 1951, the _Daily Worker_ +announced the formation of the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee with +one hundred fifty founders (from thirty-nine states), including fifty who +were educators, clergymen, and professionals. + +One of the Committee’s first official moves was to petition the New York +State Commissioner of Education to “forbid the New York City Board of +Education from enforcing its newly-enacted ban on suspected communist +teachers....” Gradually, as the old Civil Rights Congress, a well-known +front, became discredited, the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee took +over its work. In 1956 the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, after +identifying the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, stated, “When the +Communist Party itself is under fire these fronts offer a bulwark of +protection.” + +The names of the group’s one hundred fifty founders have been exploited +by the Party to fight its battles. + +To make a known Party member president of a front would immediately label +it as “communist.” But if a sympathizer can be installed, especially a +man of prominence, such as an educator, minister, or scientist, the group +can operate as an “independent” organization. This trick has worked time +after time and is still working today. By allowing themselves to be used +as tools, fellow travelers and sympathizers have immeasurably advanced +the communist cause. + +In Chapter 17 we shall discuss communist fronts in greater detail. + +Of particular interest to the communists is the influence of fellow +travelers and sympathizers in the “thought-molding” field: teachers, +script writers, newspapermen, news analysts. If these individuals can be +subjected to the slightest bit of communist thought control, the Party +will have won a major victory. + +One individual in New York City, for example, once occupied an important +role as a news commentator and author. His views were consistently +procommunist. He represented himself as an authority on international +affairs. He claimed to have talked personally to many of the world’s +leaders. Just as the communists would want, everywhere he went he built +himself up as an individual who could give the American people guidance +in their thinking. + +This sympathizer was simply irreplaceable in the communist scheme. No +open communist could discuss current events before lecture audiences, +behind the microphone, or through the written word with his degree of +“objectivity” and “independence.” He was able to fool many noncommunists +and exert considerable influence. His lecture tours were often arranged +by communist-front groups. A concealed communist contributed money to his +expenses. Wherever this “world observer” went, he preached communist-line +and pro-Soviet propaganda. When his influence began to slip, he then +changed his ways and sought his livelihood elsewhere. + +Men and women of this caliber can do much to bring others into the +communist thought-control net. No wonder the Party works to support them. + +4. _Opportunists._ Another group that falls, on occasion, under communist +thought control consists of opportunists, individuals who, if they can +benefit personally, will knowingly support the Party in return for +support or favors from it. Opportunists are cynical and self-seeking, not +caring that by cooperating with the communists, even though temporarily, +they are injuring the nation. + +In a large Midwestern city a noncommunist labor leader had aspirations to +become president of a union council. A group of communists, opposed to +the then president, decided that this labor leader could be controlled. +They drafted him as a candidate and, of course, on the election slate +placed also some Party members. The labor leader won the election, and so +did the communists, because they gained a man over whom they had a hold +and whom they could therefore expect to use. + +The opportunist was then pushed into various front organizations: he +was put on the board of a communist-sponsored school; designated as a +delegate to a convention of a front group; enlisted to join a campaign +to oppose the “anticommunist clause” in a state-wide labor convention. +He was besieged constantly to “do this” and “help us.” His value to the +Party was shown, for example, when, even though he refused on a certain +occasion to cooperate with a Party front, his position was defended by +the Party. The opportunist, in the Party’s eyes, was more important to it +as a labor leader than as a supporter of the front. + +For some time the deal paid off. The opportunist received the prestige +and the communists had a champion. Then things began to change. The +opportunist had his own ideas and ceased to follow the Party lead. +Relations became strained. When the communists wanted the city-wide +council to endorse a well-known comrade as a candidate for the board of +education, they brought up the motion at a meeting when the opportunist +was absent. The communist candidate was endorsed. That was too much for +the opportunist, who promptly issued a public statement denying that he +was backing the communist candidate. A special meeting of the council was +called to reconsider its action. + +The communists now moved into high gear. Word went out that the +opportunist would have to be “put in his place” for publicly denouncing +the communist candidate. At a special meeting the opportunist took the +floor and successfully led the fight to reverse the council’s endorsement +of a communist. The communists were bitter in their condemnation of their +onetime protégé; he was a “traitor” and a “hypocrite.” Deciding he had +had enough, the opportunist resigned the presidency. + +In such a case who is the ultimate winner? The communists, for they +have advanced their program. When he, the opportunist, faltered, he was +dropped. + +Communists watch eagerly for such opportunists; they are usually easy to +influence and exploit. The self-seeker, fighting to win an election or +wanting to earn some easy money, may listen to communist double talk and +cooperate. Not that the Party is under any illusions; the opportunist is +not going to be converted. He will denounce communist support just as +quickly as he accepted it. Relations are strictly “dog eat dog,” each +trying to exploit the other. But the opportunist can be used. + +5. _Dupes._ The final area is that of the dupe, or innocent victim, the +individual who unknowingly is under communist thought control and does +the work of the Party. A tragedy of the past generation in the United +States is that so many persons, including high-ranking statesmen, public +officials, educators, ministers of the gospel, professional men, have +been duped into helping communism. Communist leaders have proclaimed that +communism must be partly built with noncommunist hands, and this, to a +large extent, is true. + +Communist propaganda is tailored to attract noncommunists. Communism +offers a bogus “spiritual appeal,” a “Kingdom of God on earth.” Its +tactics and strategy are covered with attractive, appealing words, +such as “freedom,” “justice,” and “equality.” The communists claim +they are working for a “better world,” that they have the answer to +discrimination, exploitation, and economic want. To fight for communism, +they say, is to become part of the most sacred crusade in the history of +man. + +Many well-meaning citizens, attracted by these words and not seeing +behind the communist intentions, have been swept into the communist +thought-control net. Most are sincerely interested in improving society, +and there are many ways in which our society can and should be improved. +They are willing to devote their time, talents, and energies to a “sacred +cause.” That is how communist thought control works. If it can influence +you on any matter, regardless of how minor, making you think favorably +toward communism, it has gained. It has something to sell everyone. + +“Fool the noncommunists!” That is the slogan. And, better still, make +noncommunists fool each other! Encourage the support of as many dupes +as possible. These individuals see only the exterior, or false face, +of communism. They are never shown the inside, the real communism, the +terror, injustice, and slavery. Time after time, in almost unbelievable +fashion, victims, somehow or other under communist thought control, do +communism’s work: signing communist election petitions, contributing +time or money to communist fronts, issuing statements in support of +communist-sponsored campaigns. + +Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the National Committee of the +Communist Party, USA, quite recently was a candidate for the New York +City Council under the emblem of the People’s Rights Party. Communists +canvassed to obtain at least 3000 signatures on petitions required by law +to place her name on the ballot. They went over the goal with the help of +noncommunists. In the November 5, 1957, election, however, Flynn received +fewer than 1000 votes. + +The People’s Rights Party is a sham political party created to give +the Communist Party the legal right to run communist candidates. In +1946, 1952, 1954, and again in 1957 communist candidates have run for +municipal, state, or national office in New York City under the banner +of the People’s Rights Party. Each time signatures had to be obtained to +secure the right of the PRP to place its candidates on the ballot. + +Another instance of Party manipulation to gain the support of +noncommunists was the campaign in the summer of 1957 to solicit +signatures for petitions opposing the further testing of nuclear weapons +by the United States government. Most of these signatures, of course, +were those of noncommunists. On this issue the Party was slavishly +following the line of international communism. Communist strategy is to +provide the leadership, encouraging noncommunists to do the work. + +Not that these individuals are communists. The great majority of them +are loyal, but deceived, citizens. Sending five dollars to a front +organization with a patriotic-sounding name; signing a communist-inspired +petition urging “world disarmament” (isn’t that a worthy cause?); +attending a giant Party-manipulated rally in support of the “Bill of +Rights”: the noncommunist does not realize these campaigns are being +operated out of downtown communist headquarters. He is fooled because +he believes in the aims they profess and does not recognize the hidden +motive. + +But, from the communist point of view, a dollar is a dollar. A victim +makes a contribution. His money is just as good as money from an open +member. A noncommunist allows his name to be used on a letterhead. +Suppose he was fooled? The name is still there. Thus the communists +assemble support from all quarters, whether given intentionally or not, +and apply it toward their objectives. + +Party officials, like fishermen, are constantly watching their “nets” +to see what the fishing will bring. Each day, unfortunately, communist +thought-control nets, sweeping through American life, catch new +supporters, maybe two or three new members, several sympathizers, an +opportunist, many victims. A “big-name” sympathizer is worth a great deal +and so is another fellow traveler. Each can be put to work. The strength +of the Communist Party depends, at any given time, on the number of fish +in the net. + +How can we, as Americans, protect ourselves from becoming “innocent +victims” of the communists? + +First, we should not fall for “fronts.” In Chapter 17 you will find a +detailed description of how communist fronts operate, together with a +twelve-point list of ways to spot them so that we will not be fooled +into giving them our support. (The Attorney General of the United States +has issued a list of subversive organizations, and the House Committee +on Un-American Activities has also issued a _Guide to Subversive +Organizations and Publications_.) + +Second, we should know the answers to the _Five False Claims of +Communism_. In the next chapter we shall learn what those claims are +and how United States communists use them to disarm and confuse loyal +Americans. We should learn to spot those claims, and know the answers. + +Finally, we should not permit the use of our names unless we know +the true identity of the soliciting group. We should use our right +of petition to further the American way of life, and not allow the +communists to steal it from us. + + + + +7. + +_What Do U.S. Communists Claim?_ + + +I have said that one of the chief strengths of the Communist Party has +been its ability to appeal, by trickery, to many Americans who are +sincere, idealistic, and well-meaning. + +A first step in arming ourselves against communism is to know how those +appeals are made and how to see through them. So now let us consider five +of the most deceptive claims made by the Communist Party, USA, in its +effort to lure “innocent victims.” Let’s see what communists pretend to +be and what they really are: + +1. _Communists are not liberals._ The concept that communism is a new +world of liberalism is false, a trap used to catch noncommunists. The +word “liberal” has a fine, upright meaning and is symbolic of a great +historic tradition. That is why the communists appropriate the term for +their own use. + +Communism is the very opposite of liberalism. Liberalism means increased +rights for the citizen; a curb on the powers of the central government; +freedom of speech, religion, and the press. Communism means fewer and +fewer rights for the private citizen, curtailment of freedom of speech +and press and worship of God. The state becomes all-powerful, the +absolute reverse of American tradition. + +Make no mistake, communists do not like liberalism; that is, the genuine +liberalism of Western civilization. They denounce liberals (“liberal +blockheads” Lenin called them) and attempt by every means to destroy +them. The communists realize that true liberalism is a bitter enemy, a +fighter for the things that communism opposes. + +A derisive poem entitled “March of the Liberals” published in the July +16, 1935, issue of _New Masses_ (a now-defunct communist publication) +makes clear this communist attitude, depicting liberals as weak, +vacillating, and incapable of any affirmative action: + + a conclusion is something + we never can find.... + ... One step forward + and two steps back: + that’s the method + of our attack. + +“You see here,” _New Masses_ comments, “the rhyme and reason of why a +liberal looks so poisonous to a sincere and active radical....” The +“antidote” for such liberalism? “Weekly doses” of Marxism-Leninism, or, +in the words of the editors, “If you know one of these ‘open-minded’ +marchers, you can save him! Give him a copy of NEW MASSES quick....” + +The liberals do not want revolution but genuine social reforms. That is +why the communists detest them. But if they can be exploited, so much the +better. Like everybody else, they are fuel for the communist engine of +revolution. + +2. _Communists are not progressives._ “We of the Communist Party are +fully and completely in the camp of progress....” A prime tenet of +communist propaganda is that communism is the latest word in social +progress. All other forms of government, especially our constitutional +government, according to the communists are outmoded, old-fashioned, and +antique. Communism is the wave of the future, they like to say, bringing +all the good things that man has been dreaming about for years. Religion, +the “opium” of the people, must be destroyed, God cast out, and the +“oppressors” liquidated. The road ahead is clear. Join the Communist +Party and see “progress.” Those who do not join are “reactionaries,” +“fascists,” and “warmongers.” + +Everybody likes progress. If you are a farmer, you want to grow better +corn and more of it. If you have a lawn, you want to weed out the +dandelions and have better grass. If you are a manufacturer, you want to +develop a better product. This is a natural human trait. The communists, +identifying themselves with this idea, have convinced many people that +they are the “progressives” of the twentieth century. + +The exact opposite is true. Communists are barbarians in modern dress, +using both club and blood purge. + +Shortly before 1700 Peter the Great came to the throne in Russia. He +was ruthless and dictatorial. He was interested in making the Russian +state strong. The church, the nobles, the peasants, everybody must be +subjected. The most minute details came under his supervision. The army +was reorganized, a new civil service put into operation. He even ordered +men to shave their beards and women to dress in modern clothing. The law +was what he said it was. + +Communists have inherited this tradition. With modern, efficient tools, +such as the secret police, the army, and control of communications, they +have increased the tyranny of the state. The individual under communism +is a mere number with two shoulders to carry a bale of hay or a couple +of feed sacks, two hands to pull a wagon or drive a tractor. This is not +progress but a turning backward, throwing away the fruits of history, +religion, and free government. + +3. _Communists are not social reformers_, people working for the +betterment of living conditions. “The Communist Party ... champions the +... interests of the workers, farmers, the Negro people and all others +who labor by hand and brain....” This theme, here quoted from the 1957 +Party Constitution, is exploited time after time, to attract noncommunist +support. + +Some years ago a very distinguished person, after reading a summary +of the program of a communist-front organization, commented that if +communists worked for desirable objectives, that was praiseworthy. +However, in this individual’s opinion, such action could hardly represent +much of a gain for communism, except perhaps to make it more like +democracy. + +This is a complete misunderstanding of communism and is just what the +Party desires. The communists detest democratic reforms. These changes, +they know, will make free government stronger, hence less likely to +be overthrown by revolution. Their espousal of reforms (higher wages, +better working conditions, elimination of racial discrimination) is +strictly a revolutionary tactic. That communism, by such mass agitation, +might gradually change to democracy is a false and dangerous illusion. +Communism’s goal is world revolution. Any device that will advance its +cause is urgently pursued. + +Lenin himself is frank: + + The strictest loyalty to the ideas of Communism must be + combined with the ability to make all the necessary practical + compromises, to “tack,” to make agreements, zigzags, retreats + and so on.... + +4. _The Communists do not believe in democracy_. Communist leaders of +all ranks, from N. S. Khrushchev to William Z. Foster, from Lenin to +the communist agitator on the corner of 12th and Market Streets, have +proclaimed that communism is the most highly developed form of democracy. +Lenin stated that the Soviet Union was “a million times more democratic” +than the most advanced capitalist democracies of the West. William Z. +Foster in an official statement commented, “The Communist Party is a +democratic movement,” adding: + + And in the Soviet Union ... there exists a higher type of + democracy than in any other country in the world. + +Mention must be made, to understand this double talk, of a communist +deceptive device called _Aesopian language_. + +Nearly everyone is familiar with the fables of Aesop, such as “The Fox +and the Crow” and “The Lion and the Mouse.” Often the point of the story +is not directly stated but must be inferred by the reader. This is a +“roundabout” presentation. + +Lenin and his associates before 1917, when living in exile, made +frequent use of “Aesopianism.” Much of their propaganda was written in a +“roundabout” and elusive style to pass severe Czarist censorship. They +desired revolution but could not say so. They had to resort to hints, +theoretical discussions, even substituting words, which, though fooling +the censor, were understood by the “initiated,” that is, individuals +trained in Party terminology. + +The official _History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union +(Bolsheviks)_, telling how Bolshevik agitation in Saint Petersburg in +1912-14 was led by _Pravda_, the communist newspaper, explained that the +periodical could not openly call for revolutionary action. That would +have brought government suppression. Rather, “hints,” understood by the +communists, were used: + + When, for example, _Pravda_ wrote of the “full and uncurtailed + demands of the Year Five,” the workers understood that this + meant the revolutionary slogans of the Bolsheviks, namely, the + overthrow of tsardom.... + +In 1914 labor troubles sprang up in the capital of Russia. The +communists wanted mass meetings and demonstrations. _Pravda_ couldn’t +publicly sound the call, so it resorted to Aesopian language. + + But [the communist _History_ reads] the call was understood + by class-conscious workers when they read an article by Lenin + bearing the modest title “Forms of the Working-Class Movement” + and stating that at the given moment strikes should yield place + to a higher form of the working-class movement—which meant a + call to organize meetings and demonstrations. + +Lenin himself told how he was compelled to write: + + with an eye to the tsarist censorship. Hence, I was not + only forced to confine myself strictly to an exclusively + theoretical, mainly economic analysis of facts, but to + formulate the few necessary observations on politics with + extreme caution, by hints, in that Aesopian language—in that + cursed Aesopian language—to which tsarism compelled all + revolutionaries to have recourse, whenever they took up their + pens to write a “legal” work. + +In one propaganda tract Lenin, writing about world problems, mentioned +“Japan.” However, as he later explained, that was merely a trick to pass +the censor. “The careful reader,” Lenin said, “will easily substitute +Russia for Japan....” + +So it is with the word “democracy.” Communists still use Aesopian +language; they say one thing and mean another. In this manner they fool +noncommunists, encouraging them to believe that communism stands for +something desirable. The trained communist knows otherwise: it is mere +double talk with a completely different meaning. + +The word “democracy” is one of the communists’ favorite Aesopian terms. +They say they favor democracy, that communism will bring the fullest +democracy in the history of mankind. But, to the communists, democracy +does not mean free speech, free elections, or the right of minorities +to exist. Democracy means the domination of the communist state, the +complete supremacy of the Party. The greater the communist control, the +more “democracy.” “Full democracy,” to the communist, will come only when +all noncommunist opposition is liquidated. + +Such expressions as “democracy,” “equality,” “freedom,” and “justice” are +merely the Party’s Aesopian devices to impress noncommunists. Communists +are masters at getting other people to do their work. They clothe +themselves with everything good, noble, and inspiring to exploit these +ideals to their own advantage. + +5. _Communists are not American._ The Communist Party, USA, endeavors, in +every possible way, to convince this country that it is American. “The +Communist Party is American,” one of its top leaders recently proclaimed. +“... We take second place to nobody in our devotion to the United States +and its people.” + +This is a typical Aesopian trick. Communism stands for everything America +abhors: slave camps, rigged elections, purges, dictatorship. As we saw +in Part II, the communist movement was born abroad, was imported into +the United States, and grew up under the personal direction of Russian +leaders in Moscow. How can communism be American when it employs every +form of treason and trickery to bring about ultimate domination of the +United States by a foreign power? + +The American people, fortunately, are now more than ever aware of +the danger of communism. The hostile attitude of Soviet Russia in +international affairs, the Canadian spy revelations, Khrushchev’s +denunciation of Stalin, Soviet intervention in Hungary, the aggression +in Korea—all these events, and many more, have taught Americans that the +communist is not an angel of mercy, ministering to the weak, oppressed, +and wounded, but a menacing demon spattered with blood and wielding a +hammer and sickle of iron. + +Nevertheless, great damage has been done, and is still being done, in +miscalculating and failing to understand the true nature of communism. +In the 1930’s, and especially during World War II when Russia was a +military ally, this foreign ideology gained tremendous strength. + +The Party in 1944 claimed a membership of 80,000. Communist fronts +welcomed overflow crowds; distinguished citizens flocked to do their +work. A great backlog of influence was built up upon which the Party +is still drawing. Thought-control nets touched, in one way or another, +literally thousands of sympathizers and victims. Many individuals, +people who should have known better, went completely overboard, hailing +communism as “Twentieth-century Americanism,” a term widely publicized by +the communists themselves. + +Henry A. Wallace, in a frank and forthright article entitled “Where I +Was Wrong,” published in _This Week_ magazine on September 7, 1952, +graphically pictured the communist power of deception, how he incorrectly +interpreted communism and its counterpart, Russian imperialism. + +While Vice-President of the United States, and even later, Wallace +thought Russia “wanted and needed peace.” He visited the Soviet Union in +1944 and was favorably impressed. But, as the article relates, he did not +realize during his tour the feverish efforts being made by the Soviets to +hoodwink him. For example, he visited Magadan, a city in Siberia, which +was one of the Soviets’ most notorious slave labor camps. “Nothing I saw +at Magadan or anywhere else in Soviet Asia suggested slave labor.” Later +he learned of the Soviet actions + + ... to pull the wool over our eyes and make Magadan into a + Potemkin village [an ideal show city especially built for + visitors] for my inspection. Watch towers were torn down. + Prisoners were herded away out of sight. On this basis, what we + saw produced a false impression. + +Mr. Wallace then added these important words: + + ... what I did not see was the Soviet determination to enslave + the common man morally, mentally and physically for its own + imperial purposes. + +The communists claim to be many things they are not. All over the world +and in every field of human life they have erected false fronts, Potemkin +villages, to fool and enslave mankind. + + + + +8. + +_Why Do People Become Communists?_ + + +In the last chapter the Five False Claims of Communism showed how, +in truth, communists stand for everything that is abhorred by normal +Americans. + +Why, then, do Americans turn communist? + +The answer involves many details and is not simple. Most communists are +ordinary-looking people, like your seatmate on the bus or a clerk in one +of your neighborhood stores. + +Most communists in the United States are now native-born. Others are +naturalized citizens; a few are aliens. Some have never gone to school +and have difficulty reading and writing. Many are well educated and have +college and university degrees. Often they possess special talents in one +field or another. + +A member may earn his living in practically any occupation or profession. +Not long ago a large Communist Party section listed members in these +categories, tabulated as “professional and white collar”: artists, +actors, doctors, dentists, educators, engineers, draftsmen, lawyers, +musicians, nurses, newspaper writers, office workers, salesmen, +social-service workers, pharmacists, clergymen. Or a member may be a +butcher, carpenter, mechanic, truck driver, plumber, or laborer. + +Members are recruited from all nationalities, races, and areas of the +country. They may live in expensive mansions or tumble-down homes. +They are of all ages. Never can a communist be identified simply by his +physical appearance, occupation, or clothes. + +Why, you may ask, do these individuals join? And why, especially in this +country, which, under democracy, has such a long and heartening record of +expanding privilege and opportunity for so many? + +Perhaps we can better understand why members join if we look at an actual +case, which we can call the Case of Lost Faith. + +Jack was born in a Midwestern city. He was tall, brown-haired, and +possessed a pleasant disposition. He liked school and endeavored to +please his teachers. He was intensely curious concerning the world about +him, especially the physical sciences. + +Then something started to happen to him, slowly but surely. His faith +in God and religion seemed to be fading. As he later told FBI agents, +he felt this loss already in high school. By the time of his graduation +his faith in religion, which as a small child had been most sincere +and tenacious, had completely disappeared. There was now inside him a +spiritual vacuum. + +Upon entering college Jack found himself with an exceedingly curious mind +but one uncontrolled by any spiritual faith. In a class on government +he made the acquaintance of the _Communist Manifesto_. Later he read +sections of Engels’ _Anti-Dühring_, which, among other things, discusses +Marxist theory in relation to science. He was impressed. Here were some +ideas that seemed to offer something positive and new. + +Then one day, almost by chance, he came upon a leaflet distributed on the +campus by a communist club. Jack became interested and made contact with +the Party. Here, for the first time, he seemed to find an “answer” to the +problems that had plagued him. Here, in the Party’s claim to be working +for a better world, Jack believed he had found a new “faith,” which would +give meaning and validity to his life. Though later he was to realize his +tragic error, Jack joined the Communist Party. + +In many instances we know, joining the Communist Party comes from a loss +of faith, so to speak, in our Judaic-Christian heritage and earnest, +though perverted, seeking for a new faith. The individual is trying to +find solutions to problems, real or fancied, that disturb his life. +Many reasons cause individuals to join the Party, but undoubtedly most +important is the Party’s appeal to idealistic motivations, to a “bright +new world” where justice, peace, and freedom will replace strife, +injustice, and inhumanity. “I believed that in the Communist Party was +the beginning of a true brotherhood of man, working with devotion for +socialism, peace and democracy,” wrote Howard Fast, one of the Party’s +best-known writers, later to become bitterly disillusioned. “... I +believed, as did millions of men of good will, that the only truth about +the Soviet Union was the picture presented by friends of the Soviet +Union.” + +Communism with its deceitful double talk exploits these basic human +yearnings for better social conditions, racial equality, justice, and +peace, and places them in the service of tyranny. In this way, strange as +it may sound, communists are able to entice free men to fight for slavery +in the name of freedom. + +Unfortunately, this idealistic motivation has given thousands of members, +from brilliant scientists like Klaus Fuchs to ordinary laboring men, +undaunted zeal and enthusiasm. Members driven on by this idealism have +been willing to sacrifice their homes, families, and lives for the cause. +They have become inflamed with a passionate, though twisted, courage. +This is the motivation of the New York functionary who thought that five +or six hours of sleep a night were sufficient for any member and regarded +any request for time off as traitorous. “You can get your recreation +after the revolution,” she once snapped at an associate. + +The Communist Party, in a very true sense, becomes as in the case of Jack +a new but bigoted faith. + +The FBI has interviewed many hundreds of Party members. A few case +histories will illustrate why many joined. By understanding these +influences we can do much to defeat the Party’s present recruitment drive. + +Let’s take the case of Eric. He is typical of the many who joined the +Party during the economic depression. He remembered his youth as days of +“deprivation.” He worked at odd jobs, such as helping the milkman and +caring for chickens. But everywhere he went he met bitter frustrations. +He became more and more dissatisfied with existing economic conditions. + +Then one day at a secondhand bookstore he came upon some documents that +alleged very unsatisfactory conditions in American economic life. Eric +bought and read these documents. “The effect upon me was profound; I +don’t believe that anything I have ever read has had the same impact +upon me since.” In his own words, he felt a “terrific compulsion ... to +do something to help better the conditions brought out in the report.” +He was swept up by a desire to wipe out prejudice, to “help bring the +underdog of our civilization up to a place of dignity.” + +Eric had never talked to a Party member. He had no personal knowledge +of communism. Yet somewhere he had formed a false impression of the +Communist Party, based on communist propaganda. “I knew that it ... +somehow had come to believe that it considered all men equal, that it was +fighting for the underdog, that it had no prejudices against color of +skin or religion.” + +Motivated by these errors, Eric on his own initiative went to a corner +drugstore, looked up the Party’s address in the telephone directory, and +called headquarters. He told how Party officials seemed “surprised” when +he stated his desire to join. + +With determination in his heart, Eric went to Party headquarters, +climbed the brownstone steps to the front door, and rang the bell. A +young lady answered. He asked if this was Party headquarters. She said +no but pointed to a basement entrance. There, in the presence of an +eighteen-year-old girl and a dark-haired, stooped man, Eric signed an +application card for Party membership. His tragic decision had been made +with gusto and enthusiasm. + +Karl as a young man, like Eric, was deeply affected by the depression. +He told how he had seen people eating out of garbage cans. He felt that +something had to be done to remedy conditions. Moreover, in his opinion, +the incumbent government was not adequate to cope with the problems. + +Soon he began to read communist literature and in 1934 joined the Young +Communist League. But this was to be only the beginning. + +In 1936 came the Spanish Civil War. Karl, because of communist agitation, +became deeply interested. He detested Hitler and fascism. Mussolini and +his Black Shirts were even more detestable. The more he thought about +international developments, the more he had the urge to take a personal +hand in the situation. His hatred of fascism was intensified when some of +his relatives had to flee from Europe because of Mussolini’s persecution. + +Full of youthful vigor, Karl went to Spain as a volunteer in the Abraham +Lincoln Brigade. Here on the front lines he was wounded and to this day +bears the effects of the injury. This impetuous decision, taken against +the advice of his family, represented a contribution of the Communist +Party of the United States to international communism. Karl’s idealistic +fervor against fascism and injustice was translated into shot and powder +for the furtherance of communist aims. + +Many thousands of Americans joined the communist movement during these +early days of the fight against fascism. The hardships of depression days +contributed to the deceptive appeals of communism. These men and women, +seeking solutions, thought incorrectly that the panacea lay in communism. +They labored under the illusion that the Party and Soviet Russia +represented a better democracy. As one disillusioned member was later +to complain, “At this time the Communist apologists stressed idealistic +goals, and bragged of a growing democracy in Russia.” + +Many individuals have joined the Party in the vain hope of improving +social conditions, gaining better housing, or achieving better relations +between the races. + +Ralph was typical of many. He was a Negro, proud of his race and eager to +help better its status in America. While in school he prepared a thesis +on this subject. Wanting to secure various opinions, he asked several +friends to read his manuscript. One of these, a fellow student, remarked +after reading the paper that Ralph’s approach had been very naïve and +that further study should be undertaken. Thereupon he furnished Ralph +with information about Karl Marx and the communist viewpoint. + +The communist position appealed to Ralph. Here was an organization that +claimed that it was working zealously for the betterment of the Negro. +The propaganda appeals seemed to point the direction that Ralph should +take. He succumbed and joined the Communist Party. He was to learn that +the Party has no sincere concern for the Negro but was and is using +deceptive propaganda appeals to advance the communist cause. + +The very same communist tactic applies in the field of labor unions. +Edward was an active member of his union. In the early 1940’s he was +recruited into the Communist Party and assigned to a club in the +industrial section of the Party. Why had he joined? “When I joined the +Communist Party I believed that I was joining a political party that +would benefit the workingman.” Three years later he dropped out of the +Party; it was _not_ for the workingman. Rather it aimed at killing +individual rights, making unions subservient to Party orders, and using +union strength, influence, and finances to further communist goals. + +The Party today is still busily at work trying to infiltrate unions. +Historically, communists, including Lenin, have taught that communists +must infiltrate unions. Every union member must realize that the +communist interest in labor organizations is insincere. Past communist +appeals have been recognized as false by patriotic union leaders +themselves. Today’s communist appeal is no less false or dangerous than +those of previous years. Our knowledge of how the Party operated in the +past is one of our best weapons in defeating its techniques today. + +The list of specific reasons for joining the Party, growing out of a +desire to improve our nation, would be long. One woman was interested in +social problems, such as slum clearance and better housing. Communists +claimed to favor the same things as she. She believed and joined. Another +individual, as a young minister, saw many injustices in a Northern +state. Still another, arriving home from overseas, felt that the war had +not accomplished any semblance of peace; he was displeased with American +policy. He walked into Party headquarters on his own initiative and +signed up. + +Over the years thousands of Americans have entered the doors of +communism. The turnover of Party membership has been great. Besides +those motivated from idealistic reasons, there have been curiosity- and +adventure-seekers, opportunists, disgruntled misfits, and power-hungry +personalities. Some of these have consciously sought out the Party; +others have just drifted into it. Many were youngsters, wanting to dance +and sing. Some wanted social companionship. In others, sexual appeal +played a role. + +The Party, falsely representing itself as the final answer to _all_ of +society’s problems, economic, social, political, and religious, makes +ready use of the various hopes, fears, and aspirations of recruits. +This dynamic deceit of communist action provides an immediate channel +for energy and enthusiasm. Within hours a recruit will be handing out +leaflets or running errands. He gets the feeling of being in action _now_ +and not having to wait to participate in the fight for what he conceives +to be a better world. Many recruits to the Party, when asked later why +they didn’t offer their talents to legitimate organizations concerned +with reform, said such groups were “too slow.” In the Party they found +that “immediacy” which so satisfied them. + +Then, in working in the Party, the recruit is promised a “belongingness,” +a feeling of comradeship that can be won only in day-to-day battles +for the greatest of causes. The member is told that he is part of a +world-wide movement based on the most “enlightened,” “advanced,” and +“scientific” principles. Unfortunately the Party has been able to +generate great enthusiasm through this teaching. One member told the +FBI that the slogan, “vanguard of the working class,” had appealed to +him. He felt that not only was he contributing his own talents to the +cause but he was “leading,” “educating,” and “guiding” others. “I think +this activity was satisfying something in me,” another stated. Such an +approach often deceives recruits, especially those of an egotistical +nature, who appreciate the prospect of achieving personal “power” inside +the Party structure where the chief qualification for advancement is not +ability, education, or talent but loyalty to the Party. One high Party +leader whose authority over Party disciplinary matters extended across +half a continent was in ordinary life a day laborer. The flattering of +his ego from his Party position can well be imagined. + +In particular the communists have made an appeal to the so-called +intellectual. The seduction of many intellectuals over the years by the +Party stands as a disgrace. Thinking men and women, trained to analyze +critically, all too often have been duped. + +Our experience has shown that members joining the Party for idealistic +reasons are more likely to stay in the movement than those not so +motivated. Of course, this is not always true. Though joining the Party +in a sincere attempt to better society, a member may quickly become +disillusioned. However, time after time members who join for curiosity, +for social reasons, or for sexual pleasure soon drift out. They are +usually not the material from which hard-core communists are made. Here +is an example: + +Gladys was a college girl, rather gay, not too serious, with a great +deal of leisure. She attended some Marxist study groups. Here Russia +and communism were painted in rosy colors. After several meetings she +was invited to join the Party. She accepted, 80 per cent, she said, out +of curiosity and partly because she felt that if the communists could +achieve a “peaceful” world about which they talked, it would be a “nice +thing.” Other reasons Gladys gave for joining: to have something to +do and to alleviate “boredom.” She described Party literature as more +amusing than educational. Needless to say, she did not stay in the +movement. Even Party officials, in her opinion, never seemed to trust her. + +A sad group of recruits are simply the twisted, mixed-up neurotics. +Perhaps as sons and daughters of well-to-do parents they harbor a “guilt +complex” about the very privileges that America has given them. Or, +because of some setback in life, they are angry at society and turn to +communism as a way to “get even.” + +Let’s look at Larry, a communist in a Midwestern state. Ever since youth, +he had felt a “persecution complex.” Everywhere he looked he seemed to +see despair and strife. The whole of society, he concluded, was strictly +a dog-eat-dog affair, with life being divided between the have’s and +the have-not’s. Such an attitude was intensified by an “artistic” and +“sensitive” temperament. Seeing these “injustices,” he felt compelled to +help the “persecuted.” At first he became just a “reformer”; then, after +reading Marxist literature, he joined the Party. Twisted, distorted, and +maladjusted, he is today even more confused. He found that the Party only +exploited his neurotic condition to make use of his services. + +The techniques of actual recruitment vary. In most instances +indoctrination comes slowly. A fellow union member, worker, or +associate who is a Party member will “work” on the prospect. First come +conversations about mutual interests such as union activities. Deftly +the communist slant will be emphasized. Perhaps then will come communist +literature or an invitation to a “study group.” Step by step the recruit +becomes enmeshed in the Party’s efficient recruitment apparatus. + +A former member told how she first became acquainted with communism, +which she was later to reject. She was living a lonely life in a +boardinghouse. She noticed that some of her neighbors had many friends +who laughed and chattered gaily. Apparently they had common interests +that drew them together. One night she heard the muffled overtones of +what sounded like a meeting next door: “Overcome by my growing curiosity +about them, I snooped as no lady should. I sat on the bed and pressed +my ear against the plaster wall. As their subdued voices rose and fell, +I caught words and snatches. I don’t know now what I heard, or what +could have convinced me in my great ignorance of that time. But before +the meeting adjourned, I believed my jolly neighbors were Communists, +and that I was listening to a secret meeting of a Communist cell of +Government workers! They did not look as Communists were pictured, and +they were not plotting bomb-throwing or assassination, but some much +duller discussion with long words.” In her loneliness this woman joined +the Communist Party but found neither “happiness” nor a “sense of +direction”—only bitter disappointments. + +Party fronts offer excellent means of recruitment. Be assured that every +noncommunist who actively participates in a front is under the Party’s +close scrutiny. Sometimes, of course, as we have seen, an individual is +more useful to the Party by remaining a nonmember, a sympathizer, or a +fellow traveler. At other times, if the prospect seems to offer a fertile +field of recruitment, pressure is applied. Thousands of Party members +were recruited through the many fronts operating in the 1930’s and 1940’s. + +Of special interest to the Party are young people. The Party’s youth +organizations, such as the Young Communist League and its successors, are +largely recruiters of young people for communism. Many Party-sponsored +activities—dances, parties, and picnics—are aimed to win the allegiance +of boys and girls. Time after time members join as teen-agers—the age at +which the Party would like to capture minds. + +Many Party members have been recruited from communist homes, the children +of Party members. In America today many hundreds of children, growing up +in communist homes, are captives of this alien ideology. These youngsters +are taught from the earliest years that God does not exist. One communist +mother in a Northern state taught her children that God was not real. +She said that it was fun to watch Superman on TV but that a person must +recognize that he doesn’t actually exist. It’s the same way, she said, +with God. In another city a communist father noticed a religious program +on the family television set. He uttered a derogatory remark and turned +off the program with the exclamation, “I’m a Marxist.” + +Party parents provide special Marxist instruction for their children. One +father would sit down with his youngsters and discuss items appearing in +the _Daily Worker_; another gave regular quizzes on Marxist literature; +still another lectured on Marxist economics every morning at the +breakfast table. When the child grows up, he is given Party tasks: +distributing literature, taking up collections at rallies, walking in +picket lines. He begins to get the “feel” of Party life. In one instance +a communist family gathered around a table and spent an hour or two +in Party self-criticism and promising to do better. Party morality is +constantly being inculcated in these youthful minds, a belief that +whatever helps the Party is good, whatever hinders it is immoral. In one +instance a communist father denounced a federal law that restricted the +activities of the Party. His teen-age son, confused by the statement, +pointed out that the Act was part of the law of the land. “Son,” the +father replied, “if a law is bad, you do not have to obey it.” + +No wonder many hundreds of recruits spring from communist homes as +devotees of Marxism-Leninism. + +Our experience has shown that reasons for joining the Party are many, +varied, and complicated. Each individual has his own personal problems, +hopes, and aspirations. Any attempt to apply generalized, ready-made +stereotypes is to leave the problem unsolved. Moreover, we must try +to see the _total man_; that is, all the forces, events, ideas, and +motivations that brought about his tragic decision. For that reason each +member deserves careful study. In the next chapter I shall discuss the +reasons why members leave the Party. Here again we must understand each +member as a human being, as an individual, always remembering that even +though still a bigoted devotee he is convertible. Any thinking Party +member will soon recognize the basic contradictions of communism. + +We should be alert to help any communist back on the road to good +American citizenship as soon as he shows the slightest indication that he +is disillusioned with what he has found inside Party circles. + +What lesson can we as a society learn from the Party’s methods of +recruitment? Most important, I think, is to realize that the Communist +Party is attempting to exploit the rise of materialism, irreligion, and +lack of faith in our society. In an era when moral standards have been +lowered, when family life has been disrupted, when crime and juvenile +delinquency rates are high, communists have tried to set forth a +goal—dressed in attractive phrases—that would captivate the longings +and hopes of men and women. They have, in truth, tried to “steal” the +nobility, the fervor, the enthusiasm of a free government under God. + + + + +9. + +_Why People Break with Communism_ + + +Just as important as knowing why people join the Communist Party is +understanding why they leave. Here again, by recognizing the influences +that cause them to reject this alien doctrine, we can do much to defeat +the communist conspiracy. + +Always we must keep in mind that communists, even hard-core members, +potentially can be converted. To the individual who asserts, “Once a +communist, always a communist,” I say: “No. Every communist can be made +to see the errors of his way. He must not be despised, belittled, or +rejected as hopelessly lost. He can redeem himself by actively taking a +stand for freedom. Every patriotic American must do what he can to bring +these persons to see the truth. The ex-communist is today one of our most +potent weapons against communism.” + +On September 9, 1957, the _Daily Worker_ published a story which stated: +“Joseph Clark has resigned from the Daily Worker, of which he was foreign +editor, and from membership in the Communist Party.” + +Clark was a Party member for twenty-eight years, always known as an +ardent one. When Stalin died, Clark was his paper’s correspondent in +Moscow. Yet, by his own current processes of thinking he saw the futility +of the Party. + +Howard Fast, well-known communist author, was mentioned in the last +chapter. After years of Party membership and thousands of words of +communist propaganda, he quit. The revelations of Khrushchev about +Stalin’s murderous regime were too much. “The dimensions of this horror +were not only beyond anything we could have dreamed of ... I was filled +with loathing and disgust.” + +On the West Coast Barbara Hartle, because of her fiery energy and zeal, +was recognized in Party circles as the outstanding woman communist in +the Pacific Northwest. So active was she in Party circles that she was +indicted, tried, and convicted under the Smith Act. But she, too, became +disillusioned. Like Louis Budenz, Bella Dodd, Howard Fast, and Joseph +Clark, she added her name to the growing list of communists who have +said, “We’ve had enough. We’re quitting.” + +To understand why members break with the Party, let’s examine the case +of Barbara Hartle, who exemplifies the anguish of a Party official +desperately seeking her way to freedom. Her experiences may enable +members still in the Party to look into their own hearts. Are they being +beset by the same doubts? Why have these doubts arisen? What is working +to increase or to quell them? + +On the other hand, Barbara Hartle’s story will give the patriotic citizen +an appreciation of the anguish experienced by Party members on their +journey to freedom. He can learn to be understanding, patient, and +helpful. He will see, for instance, how a sympathetic citizen helped +Barbara free herself from communist entanglement. + +On March 12, 1954, Barbara Hartle walked into the Seattle office of the +FBI. She didn’t need to identify herself. The previous October she, along +with four other top Party leaders, had been convicted in Seattle under +the Smith Act. + +Barbara Hartle told her story: She had been graduated in 1929, Phi Beta +Kappa, from Washington State College, majoring in English; then she +went to Spokane, trying to find a job. Those were depression days and +her story is all too typical. Hoping for a “better world,” she began +to read Karl Marx. Deeply impressed, she joined the Socialist, then +the Communist, Party. Her rise was rapid. Later she was transferred to +Seattle where she occupied some of the highest Party positions in the +Washington State organization. “I’ll go to jail if I must,” she once +declared, “but I’ll remain a communist.” + +One day in 1945 Barbara Hartle sat writing an article for the communist +press. Earl Browder was on his way out as head of the communist movement. +By force of habit she defended him. But Party experience taught +otherwise. Foster was now the “boss.” Confused by the sudden Party shift, +she tore up the article. + +Later, back on the Party line, she wrote another article supporting +Foster. But something had happened. Out of this confusion, this “great +surprise,” as she termed it, of the Party switch, she seemed suddenly to +have seen something new—that the Party was not what it claimed to be, but +a fraudulent deception. To Barbara Hartle, as to many communists, doubt +had come, an indication that the breath of freedom was still alive in her. + +As in many such cases, this confusion and doubt quickly disappeared, +swallowed up in the rush of Party life. In 1939 she had become disturbed +by the Party’s position on the Hitler-Stalin pact, but this also had +passed. She soon became the same fanatical Barbara Hartle, attending +meetings, issuing orders, making speeches. + +Yet these doubts were to be followed by other doubts. Now she began, as +she later explained, to become conscious of certain features of Party +life that she had not previously noticed. She listed some of them: + + 1. The constant factional struggle for leadership. + + 2. The hand-picking of leaders from the top. + + 3. The arbitrary handling of funds by some of the top officials. + + 4. Finding the “self-criticism” of leaders to be mere “empty + promises.” + + 5. The “furious resistance” of Party leaders to criticism or + guidance offered by rank-and-file members. + + 6. The expulsion of members by “rigged trials.” + +Like a searchlight, these doubts began to search out other doubts, +inconsistencies, and contradictions. The fissure of doubt was widening. + +Now Barbara was to experience a phenomenon that affects every Party +member trying to break the communist spell: _the counterattack of the +unconscious Party discipline_. + +Doubts would suddenly arise, then disappear. They would arise again but +again disappear. When she seemed to want to slow up in her Party work, +her old enthusiasm would return. She found, as she later explained, +that her “process of mental reorientation was impeded by the study and +teaching of Marxist-Leninist works, which is the Communist Party’s +antidote for such an eventuality.” + + Over a long period and through a slow process of constant + discussion, schools, and self study the Communist Party builds + a conscience of responsibility upon which it then relies to + keep a member functioning, even though any real desire to do so + has passed. + +That’s why the Party keeps stressing Marxist-Leninist education: Party +schools, reading the communist press, self-study. It builds up a +discipline that automatically attacks doubts, rationalizes contradictions +inside the Party structure, and guides every decision in the Party’s +favor. + +Then, in mid-1950, an important event occurred for Barbara Hartle. She +received instructions to attend a secret meeting in Woodland Park, +Seattle. There she was told to change her name, leave Seattle, and enter +the Party’s underground. For the next two years she lived under assumed +names in various Washington State and Oregon cities. + +The unending hustle and bustle of everyday Party activity ceased. As she +sat in a lonely room or stood on a dark street corner waiting for an +underground meeting, she now had time to think. Suddenly all the doubts +that had been slowly accumulating came together. At the same time the +restraining influences of Party discipline became weaker. + + A more rapid disillusionment on my part took place when I left + the active Communist Party upon leaving Seattle to enter the + Communist Party underground movement. Without direct day to day + pressure, with less reading of Marxist-Leninist works and with + increased reading of other material, and through coming into + contact with average people my mental processes were hastened. + The culmination of this process was my decision to leave the + Communist Party and to live my own life. + +She became convinced that the Communist Party was an evil; that it did +not represent a way to better social or economic conditions; that it was +a fraud and a deception. + + I never realized that this discipline and this mental and + physical domination of the Communist Party over its members is + necessary to it in order to continue its double life of posing + as one thing and being another. I had never before realized + that the many unsolved problems I had noted while still a + Communist Party member were products of this double existence. + +It was one thing, however, to break intellectually with the Party, +another to break openly. That was now to be Barbara Hartle’s anguish and +the anguish of so many members still in the Party today. + +Barbara was living in a no-man’s land: she had broken with the world of +tyranny yet was held by the power that had robbed her of freedom. The +indecision began to tear her apart. She was spiritually sick. At first +she kept saying to herself and the Party, “I’ll be all right. Just give +me a little time. I’ll work this out.” She just couldn’t realize that +these doubts were permanent signs of a new life, not temporary confusions +in an old allegiance. Merely to drift away quietly wasn’t possible. The +Party wouldn’t allow that. The only way was to redeem herself by walking +boldly forward. + +This she did in March, 1954. And here is what a sympathetic citizen +can do to help. Mr. Traynor Hansen, a reporter for the Seattle +_Post-Intelligencer_, had covered the 1953 Seattle Smith Act trial. He +noticed, as did others, that Barbara Hartle lacked the fiery disposition +of the other defendants. Later, while on bond, she had long visits with +him. It was his counsel that she go to the FBI since it would have been +improper under the circumstances for us to go to her. + +To Barbara Hartle’s lasting credit, she did not try to evade +responsibilities for her past errors. The information that she furnished +the FBI is now at work against the very Party that for almost twenty +years duped her. And she, with a clear conscience, is winning back the +respect and esteem she had before the Party stole her away. She deserves +aid as she reconstructs her life. + +Many interviews with Party members reflect numerous men and women inside +the movement today in various stages of disillusionment. Such doubts are +good omens. They indicate that not all members are lost beyond recall. By +the very nature of Party discipline doubts are inevitable. Any member in +the Party today without doubts is indeed a complete slave. + +What causes doubt to arise in the minds of members? Our experiences +reveal these major categories: + +1. _The absence of freedom inside the Party._ The greatest single factor +making for doubt is the lack of democracy inside the Party. “I was +constantly whipped into line,” one member said, “on policies and issues +with which I disagreed.” “Discussions at meetings were not open....” +Party organizers would come and tell the club what to do. “Why Writer +Quit Reds: They Frown on Thinking,” read a headline in a New York City +newspaper. This member could no longer force himself “to live in the +stifling atmosphere of the party line with all its ruthless intolerance +for the processes of the mind.” In another instance a woman told us how +she had voted “no” in a Party meeting. “People literally moved their +chairs away from me. I walked out of the meeting and never attended a +Communist Party meeting again.” + +More and more intellectuals are realizing that the Party is simply +exploiting their prestige and talents, without trusting them. +Intellectuals are encouraged to think, if they think the “right” way; +but any independent thinking is not allowed. That is why, in the +final analysis, the Party keeps the pressure on its members who are +intellectuals. It fears that they might start thinking for themselves. As +one intellectual stated, “I think that the Party was using me, as they +were many other intellectuals.... I always had the feeling that they +never trusted intellectuals beyond a certain limit....” + +2. _The inability to live a normal life._ Closely allied is the +impossibility of living as a decent human being. One member said he +resented the Party’s constantly demanding his time. There was no end +of assignments: distributing literature, attending meetings, getting +petitions signed. Another member complained that she was “sick and tired” +of her husband’s putting the Party before her and the children. The +Party’s instructions must always take precedence. This constant stealing +of time, never allowing the member to relax, develop a hobby, or enjoy a +family, provokes the most searching doubts. + +3. _The Party’s callous disregard of members’ personal problems._ A +Party official’s wife was sick. He asked for time off. It was refused. +Or, a member’s home must be mortgaged in a fund drive. And if he cannot +make payments, it’s his hard luck. Again, an old-time member was sent +underground. He was instructed to change his name, sell his car and +personal belongings, leave his wife and not contact her. He asked Party +permission to visit his family. The answer: no. He came home anyhow and +was severely disciplined. + +No wonder more and more members are asking, “Why continue to be +exploited?” + +4. _Discrepancy between Party practices and claims._ As we have seen, +many members join in the mistaken belief that the Party will improve +some social evil, such as racial inequality or inadequate housing. “It +is frankly recognized in Communist theory,” one disillusioned old-timer +confessed, “that the whole strategy is not for the main purpose of Negro +liberation, but for the purpose of the proletarian revolution.” “My +dissatisfaction with the Party and my break with the Party came about +through a gradual process as a result of the realization that Party +policy was a detriment to true trade unionism.” + +Like Barbara Hartle, dubious communists see the internal squabbles and +feuds, rigged elections, trumped-up evidence, the striving to be little +commissars. Party leaders stay in fancy hotels or take vacations, while +rank-and-file members are hounded to donate the last dollar. All this is +disillusioning, especially in an organization that claims to be working +for a just society. + +5. _Communist tyranny in Russia and behind the Iron Curtain._ The +sensational revelations of Khrushchev concerning the crimes of +Stalin rocked the Party apparatus. Then came indisputable evidence +of anti-Semitism in Russia and in November, 1956, the capping +blow, suppression of Hungary by Soviet troops, the spectacle of a +self-proclaimed leader of “people’s rights” physically strangling a +people’s demand for liberty. + +This caused Howard Fast to strike violently at the Party that could give +birth to “the explosive and hellish revelations of the Khrushchev ‘secret +report’” when he said: + + I felt a sense of unmitigated mental nausea at the realization + that I had supported and defended this murderous bloodbath, and + I felt, as so many did then, a sense of being a victim of the + most incredible swindle in modern times. + +About Hungary: “From Hungary and its tragedy we learned of a new kind of +socialism—socialism by slaughter and terror.” No wonder Fast laments, “A +lifelong structure of belief lies shattered around me....” + +Another member who had been in the Party almost twenty years told our +agents that she was quitting. If what happened in Russia, as revealed +by Khrushchev, was true, she wanted “no part” of it. Still another +member with over twenty-five years in the movement admitted that Soviet +intervention in Hungary brought things to a head for him. If he were in +Hungary, he said, he would be a Freedom Fighter. + +Every abrupt change in the Party line, such as the 1939 Hitler-Stalin +Pact or the 1945 ousting of Browder, jars many members. However, no event +in Party life has been so conducive to raising doubts among members as +the Khrushchev report and its sequel. + +6. _Communist opposition to religion._ Member after member has related +that the Party’s claims that God doesn’t exist and that religion is a +myth have raised doubts. Many members carry within their hearts the +influence of religious training received while they were young. They +inwardly rebel at a materialist solution to life. + +Then there is the protest against the Marxist doctrine, which, in the +words of one former member, “purports to reduce man’s problems and +destiny to an economic formula.” In deeply emotional terms he added, “I +want my children to approach their world and the history behind it, with +the curiosity and objectivity it takes to learn. I do not want them to +feel that the questions are answered, that this or that little system is +the slide rule for answering all their questions.” + +These, then, are some of the reasons why doubts concerning communism +arise in members’ minds. Why do many still hesitate to break with the +Party? The answer: They are still under the influence of false fears. + +1. _Fear of the FBI._ One member, when interviewed by the FBI, expressed +amazement at the cordial treatment accorded him. “I thought you fellows +would drag me from my house.” Communists for years have poured scorn and +contempt on the FBI. They try to paint our agents as brutal thugs in the +hope of driving a wedge between their members and the government. One +highly placed member, visited by the FBI, turned what was expected to +be a fifteen-minute interview into a five-hour discussion, during which +he said, “The Party considers the FBI its prime enemy and Party members +are expected to denounce the FBI.” The FBI wants sincerely to help these +individuals. They should feel free to counsel with us. Members can be +assured that they will be cordially received, not embarrassed, and that +their information will be kept strictly confidential, should they so +request or if there is good reason to protect their identity. + +2. _Fear of being a “stool pigeon.”_ This false belief, inspired by Party +discipline, is today keeping many lost souls silent. Our agents asked one +Party member, “Suppose a criminal gang kidnaped one of your children. +What would you do?” The answer: “Call the FBI.” “Would you want the FBI +to make inquiries to locate the youngster?” “Yes.” “Would you expect +citizens having pertinent knowledge of this criminal conspiracy to give +that information to the FBI?” “Certainly,” he said. + +The communist member furnishing information to the FBI is also doing +his moral and patriotic duty in helping crush a criminal conspiracy. To +remain silent is to assist the Party. Communism, like a criminal gang, +thrives when people able to combat it refuse to do so. “Stool pigeon” is +a Party-defined term used as a weapon to enforce communist discipline. +The Party is enabled to reach into men’s minds, censor their thoughts and +words, and thereby buttress tyranny. + +3. _Fear of personal safety and reputation._ Some members fear the rabid +hatred that the Party spews out at members leaving the movement. A West +Coast communist, though disillusioned, didn’t break with the Party. He +feared that his communist friends would ostracize him. Finally, though +hesitantly, he said he was now willing to “risk” being with the majority +of Americans! + +Party members should not fear the hostility of their former Party +associates. To be denounced by communists is an honor. Remember, the +example of a Party member breaking with the Party may influence others to +do likewise. + +4. _Fear of disgracing their families._ Many members trapped in the Party +dread that their loved ones will know of their involvement. One man, +asked if his wife and children knew of his communist background, began +to cry. Another said he would do anything to keep his young son from +knowing. Not long ago our agents contacted a Party member. “Don’t talk to +me at home,” she said. “I don’t want the children to know. Call me on the +phone.” Her wishes were respected. + +To remain silent is not to improve the situation. There is no way in +which such cooperation will injure the family. One member, very thankful +that he had cooperated with the FBI, said he was happily married and +simply would not allow his communist background to injure his innocent +family. + +5. _Fear of not being received as a loyal American._ The answer lies +largely with the Party member himself. It is within his power alone to +break completely with communism. He will be judged by his actions, not +alone by his words. The biblical advice holds true: “... by their fruits +ye shall know them.” + +In addition, patriotic Americans must do their share to help these Party +members. Many are driven back into Party tyranny by the inexcusable +ignorance, rancor, and pride of noncommunists. Moreover, it does not help +when the truly reformed communist is characterized as a “renegade” and +“traitor”—terms which would normally be used by communists themselves and +not by good Americans. + +In November, 1953, I wrote an article entitled “Breaking the Communist +Spell,” which appeared in _This Week_ magazine. It was an appeal to +members disillusioned with communism to step forward and help in the +fight against Soviet tyranny. The response was encouraging. In an Eastern +city a caller said he had read the article and wanted to give information +about Party activities. Another person told our agents, “It’s never easy +to tell such a story.... Then I saw an appeal by J. Edgar Hoover in a +recent magazine article and after reading it several times felt that +I should make a special effort to remember and pull what I could into +order.” + +I want to set forth again the salient portions of this article. It seems +to sum up what we have been trying to say on this most important subject: + + The individual contributions of former members of the Communist + Party to the security of our way of life are shining examples + of people who have recognized their mistakes and are doing all + within their power to rectify them. + + * * * * * + + If, having knowledge of persons and activities detrimental to + his country, he breaks from the Party, yet maintains silence, + he is still aiding the enemy. The moral obligation involved + cannot be met by silence. The choice is simple: _help the + United States_. The man who does this is preserving freedom + under law. He is protecting the American way of life for free + men and women—including his family and himself. + + * * * * * + + These people deserve the nation’s respect, and their neighbors’ + fair-minded forgiveness for their past devotion to Communism. + Their means of livelihood must be protected, and loyal + Americans must accept their sincere repentance as a return to + the full scope of citizenship. All great religions teach that + the sinner can always redeem himself. Who, then, shall sit in + judgment on the ex-Communist? Who dare deny him the promise + held out to those who repent of the evil they have done and who + try to make amends? + + For our part, at the FBI, we have always sought to recognize + the very real human and personal problems facing the + ex-Communists who have come to our offices to make such + amends.... + + In discussing the ex-Communist, those who piously say that the + leopard never changes its spots forget that they are speaking + of human beings—mortal creatures with immortal souls. And those + who say “Once a Communist, always a Communist” are simply + advertising their ignorance. To deny that men can change is to + deny the truths which have eternally guided civilized man. + + + + +_Part IV_ + +LIFE IN THE PARTY + + + + +10. + +_How the Party Is Organized_ + + +Look in for a minute on a typical secret meeting of a communist “club” +or cell “somewhere in the United States.” This particular meeting is +selected because it is typical of hundreds of such meetings. + +The house is frame, painted gray with green shutters. A wire fence runs +around the trim yard. The owner works as a draftsman in a downtown +company, his wife keeps house. They have lived in the neighborhood for +many years. + +It is now dark, a little after eight o’clock on a winter evening. The +downstairs light is on, the blinds are drawn. A man comes to the front +door, raps lightly, and is admitted. Soon another man, walking at a +leisurely pace, rounds the corner and enters. He has parked his car on +another street. + +Ten minutes pass. A third man knocks. He has come by bus from downtown. +To make certain nobody was following him, he had ridden two stops past +his correct destination, then walked back. Five minutes later a fourth +person, a woman in a dark coat, arrives. Everything is quiet: no loud +voices, no cars parked in front, no reasons for the neighbors to suspect +that a Communist Party meeting is in progress. + +Communist Party groups like this are small, containing three, four, +or five people—a security precaution. In that way fewer members know +each other and detection is less likely. Meeting places are frequently +changed: this evening a private home, next time a public library or +an automobile. Members have been known to sit on park benches, in bus +terminals, even in hospital waiting rooms, hatching their plots in +casual, conversational tones. + +The third man is the Party organizer, a paid official who serves as the +group’s leader. He sits in a chair in the corner; the others form a +rough semicircle. He speaks quietly but in a commanding tone, acting the +dictator that he actually is. + +“Joe,” he says, addressing the first man to arrive, “you remember the +last time we met you were given an assignment to collect three to five +thousand sheets of paper, a Mimeograph machine, and some ink. How did +things go?” + +“Fine,” Joe replies. “I bought four thousand sheets of paper. Got them at +three different stores.” + +“Good,” says the organizer, “that’s using your head.” + +“I also bought a Mimeograph machine and plenty of ink. Everything’s safe +now in the right place.” (The “right place” refers to an apartment in +another section of the city occupied by a concealed communist, which the +Party uses as a secret hide-out.) + +“One thing more,” Joe says. “I’ve made inquiries about a portable +printing press. It’s pretty old, but it’ll work.” + +“Fine,” the organizer says, obviously pleased. “Follow that through. You +took the serial numbers off the Mimeograph, didn’t you?” + +“No, I didn’t,” stammers the comrade. “I forgot....” + +“Forgot!” explodes the organizer. “What’s wrong with you? That’s just +plain stupid. Joe, this is serious business. You’ve got to keep alert. +Someday this machine may be used to print secret Party instructions. We +can’t afford to have it traced. Take off all identification marks at +once.” + +Then turning to another man, the one who had parked his car around the +corner, the organizer says, “Phil, how are things coming at the plant? +Making any progress on getting Bill installed as shop steward?” + +“No, not much. Things look pretty bad.” The man shifts his legs. He is a +big fellow, weighing over two hundred pounds. “Looks like we’re blocked.” + +“Nonsense,” snaps the organizer, “we’ve gone over that before. There’s +always a way. Communists never give up. You’ve got things good. You’re +at home enjoying life. Remember Lenin, exiled from Russia, going from +town to town. He didn’t quit, and look what he did. He was a genius. +What’s the big problem, Phil?” + +“It’s Red, the union president. He knows Bill is a communist and he’s +fighting him. Red is smart, he knows the ropes. He’s always been a hard +worker for labor unions. He’s got a clean record and he’s liked by the +members. As long as Red is president, we’re in a bad fix.” + +“That’s the wrong attitude, Phil. If one thing won’t work, try another. +Can’t we accuse him of something? Have you gone over his past life? +Hasn’t he ever done anything wrong?” + +“If he has, we can’t find it. He’s a straight shooter from ’way back and +he really hates communists.” + +“Phil, this is your Number One assignment,” the organizer says. “You get +something on Red. He’s got to be discredited. Maybe we can make up some +letters, mail them in another city, accuse him of working against the +union. You figure out the details.” + +The organizer goes around the circle to the other members. Are they +carrying out their assignments? Ethel, the draftsman’s wife, thinks she +will soon be elected an officer in a downtown women’s group. + +“Wonderful,” says the organizer. “Don’t rush things too fast but try to +get some of the women to write letters to Washington. Let them say the +FBI is a Gestapo; that they’re violating civil liberties by arresting +Party leaders. That’s good, Ethel.” + +“They haven’t the slightest idea I’m a communist.” She laughs. “I’m +working hard at it.” The other woman, the last one to arrive, reports her +activities as secretary of a communist-front organization. + +The organizer, wanting the meeting to be short, speaks a few words about +“new things” in the Party: A pamphlet from national headquarters has +just been received and should be bought by all; finances are not in good +shape; a new Party school is going to be held next month. Ethel should +attend. + +Shortly after nine o’clock the meeting is over, and as quietly as they +have come the members slip out into the night. + +This Communist Party club is representative of many hundreds throughout +the nation. Night after night, week after week, these men and women are +plotting against America, working out smears, seeking to discredit free +government, and planning for revolution. They form the base of a gigantic +pyramid of treason, stretching from the little gray house with green +shutters to the towers of the Kremlin. + + +The Communist Constitution (18th version, 1957) + +At least in theory the Communist Party, USA, is based on a +“constitution,” which sets forth the group’s organizational structure. +That constitution, being a public document, is filled with typical +Aesopian language. The Party member, for example, isn’t fooled when the +constitution proclaims, “The Communist Party upholds the achievements of +American democracy and defends the United States Constitution and its +Bill of Rights....” He knows better. His Marxist training enables him to +recognize the Party’s real aim: + + The Communist Party seeks to advance the understanding of the + working class in its day-to-day struggles for its historic + mission, the establishment of socialism. (Preamble) + +Here is the key, “_historic mission_.” What does it mean? Not something +traditional, respectable, or patriotic, but the overthrow of this +government by force and violence. Engels talked about the “historic +mission” of “the proletariat,” which “can only free itself by doing away +once for all with class dominion, subjugation, and exploitation.” That, +in communist terminology, means revolution. The Communist International +spoke of the Party’s “historic mission of achieving the dictatorship of +the proletariat.” + +Today’s communists, with deceitful double talk, are attempting to +camouflage the true meaning of this old and well-defined revolutionary +term. Comrades in the early 1920’s weren’t quite so squeamish about their +intentions. The Party’s constitution (1921) proclaimed the communist +purpose: + + ... to destroy the bourgeois state machinery; to establish the + Dictatorship of the Proletariat in the form of Soviet power; to + abolish the capitalist system and to introduce the Communist + Society. (Article I, Section 2) + +Regardless of current communist claims, “historic mission” is the Party’s +linguistic description of its revolutionary intent. + +The National Convention, according to the constitution, is the highest +authority in the Party. This convention, normally held every two years, +is composed of delegates “elected” by state or district conventions. The +National Convention, after hearing “discussions” of the various issues, +is authorized to make decisions binding upon the entire membership. + +These affairs have the trappings of big-time conventions. Various +committees are chosen, resolutions adopted, and speeches given. +Proceedings are secret, although communists say they have nothing to +hide. Members of the legitimate press are excluded. Exploiting this +blackout of news, the communists often issue slanted press releases in +an effort to influence public opinion. Another tactic is to allow the +attendance of selected noncommunists, persons carefully hand-picked +wherever possible, who the Party hopes will later make favorable reports. + +Extensive preparations are made for the National Convention. Party +officials as a general rule work up a “draft program,” a summary of +proposed Party aims on current issues, national and international. This +“draft program” is widely circulated, with members being asked to discuss +indicated approaches. Then, theoretically, the convention, based on the +opinions developed, adopts a final program. Actually, in practice, the +draft program represents a technique whereby the leadership “sells” the +membership the ideas it wants to stress. Frequently, convention reports, +resolutions, and speeches, properly edited, are later published. They +serve as policy guides for the membership. + +Never forgotten are Soviet trimmings. Proudly read on the floor of the +Sixteenth National Convention (February 9-12, 1957) were greetings from +the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Other +Communist Parties in China, Canada, Italy, Japan, and Czechoslovakia +also sent “best wishes.” From these, members gain a sense of communist +solidarity, or, in Party language, _proletarian internationalism_, +the feeling that they are integral parts of the world-wide communist +movement. This is one of the driving forces of modern-day communism: the +Party-promoted idea that no member is alone, that he is part of a vast +movement which, in communist eyes, is destined to conquer the world. +Singing the “Internationale,” the communist marching song, also engenders +this feeling. + + +The Three Levels of Power + +The Party’s organizational structure may be likened to layers in a +pyramid, one placed on top of the other. + +1. The top level centers around national headquarters and contains the +Party’s policy-making organs (1) _National Committee_; (2) _National +Executive Committee_; and (3) _National Administrative Committee_. +With ruthless hand this echelon rules the Communist Party, USA. The +designation given here is the current arrangement, which is always +subject to change. The Party never hesitates to reshuffle its top +administrative bodies, changing their names and sizes. For many years, +for example, it had national officers: National Chairman, William Z. +Foster, and General Secretary, Earl Browder and, later, Eugene Dennis. +The power remains, however, in the hands of a small minority. + +2. The second or middle level contains the many administrative organs +that implement the decisions of the inner hierarchy: (1) _various +commissions and departments_; (2) _special organizers_; and (3) _front +groups_. + +3. The bottom or third level is broad and extensive and contains all the +subordinate regional and local units in the Party: that is, _district +organizations_, and, in turn, various _state_, _county_, _city_, +_section_, and _club_ setups. This level encompasses the entire nation. + +National headquarters is located in a three-story, twenty-foot-wide, +brownstone building at 23 West 26th Street, New York City, just off +Broadway. A pygmy amid Manhattan’s towering skyscrapers, with iron bars +shielding the bottom-floor windows, this American Kremlin is the symbol +of communist power in our country. Here meetings are held and important +decisions made. The national office occupies the third floor and +penthouse; the New York State Communist Party is on the first and second +floors. However, the 1957 Party convention authorized shifting national +offices to Chicago. + + +Level 1: The High Command + +The real power of the Party rests in the _National Committee_. This +committee, “elected” by the national and state conventions, is +responsible for running the Party between conventions as provided by the +constitution: + + Between National Conventions, the National Committee is the + highest authority of the Party, representing the Party as a + whole, and as such has the authority to make decisions and take + actions necessary and incidental to the good and welfare of the + entire Party, and to act upon all problems and developments + occurring between Conventions. (Article V, Section 9) + +This provision covers a multitude of possibilities and forms the basis +for the dictatorship of a few leaders, in typical communist style. The +National Committee is America’s Politburo, a small group of some sixty +individuals directing war against noncommunist institutions. + +Minority control is strengthened still more by clever manipulation. The +current National Committee elected a twenty-member National Executive +Committee, which in turn selected administrative officials. In actual +practice, the latter group is the dominant power, making day-to-day +decisions. There is no free election of the membership. With members of +the National Committee spread throughout the country, “on-the-spot” New +York comrades tend to monopolize control of Party affairs. + +This atmosphere of almost unlimited authority often produces a repugnant +type of person. Many of the top leaders are haughty, swaggering, +overbearing. They feel that they are better than “little” comrades. They +are the “experts” in Marxism-Leninism. Their job is to teach the “less +informed.” + +William Z. Foster went to Seattle, Washington, a few years ago to make a +speech. “We’re glad you’ve come,” the welcoming local official commented. +“Many of our comrades are looking forward to meeting you.” + +“Not so fast,” warned Foster. “I’m not going to see any of them. I’m too +busy. These little Party people just sit down and pour out their personal +problems. It wears me out and you can’t get rid of them.” + +“But,” protested the local organizer, “they’ve been busy for weeks, +working to make the meeting a success. They want....” + +“Nonsense,” snapped Foster. “You decide which ones are worth my time and +I’ll see them. Make appointments. I can’t solve everybody’s problems.” + +Later the local leader told Foster that the comrades wanted to give him a +present, perhaps a traveling bag. + +“Oh, no,” Foster interrupted. “I’ve already looked at traveling bags, and +I didn’t find any costing less than seventy-five dollars which would be +suitable. I don’t think the members want to spend that much.” + +Right he was. The organizer had probably browbeaten all “volunteers” to +collect twenty to thirty dollars. + +“What about a watch?” inquired the local leader, intent on pleasing the +high-ranking visitor. + +“I already have one,” replied Foster. “It cost a hundred and twenty-five +dollars. I don’t think it’s advisable to buy a more expensive one, and I +wouldn’t wear a cheaper one.” + +That settled it. This “proletarian” leader, the “champion of the poor and +downtrodden,” acting like a miniature Hitler, was indeed difficult to +please. + + +Level 2: The Special Units + +The attack weapons of the Communist Party are contained in the middle +layer, the _commissions_ and _departments_ to carry out the decisions of +the inner clique. + +Communist leaders view American life not as a vast, uniform whole +but as a series of different segments, each, in its own way, open to +the appeal of communism. There are, for instance, farmers with their +special problems, trade-union members, and groups with special interests +related to nationality, youth, and race. Communists realize that a +single program, slanted to appeal to all groups at once, will not work. +To be effective, communist propaganda must be tailored to fit specific +problems. What are a group’s dissatisfactions, desires, and aims? How can +communism most effectively appeal to this group? The fact that programs +designed for different groups are often mutually contradictory makes no +difference to communists. The main point is to attract followers and stir +up discontent in as many areas as possible. + +This is the task of various commissions and departments, each headed by a +national Party leader. Merely to list some of them will give an idea of +the scope of the Communist Party’s appeal: Veterans’ Commission, Women’s +Commission, Education Department, Cultural Commission, Negro Commission, +Labor Department, Nationality Groups Commission, Youth Commission. + +In addition, there are related organs dealing with the internal +administration of the Party. The National Organization Department, for +example, handles the placement of Party officials throughout the nation, +while the National Review (Control) Commission (also known as the Appeals +Commission) is in charge of security and disciplinary matters. + +These commissions and departments are little dynamos attempting to spark +enthusiasm for the communist cause in their special fields. They prepare +literature, arrange speaking tours, organize fronts. Their job is to work +out the practical details of implementing the Party line. + +This task is accomplished largely through the employment of “experts,” +men and women trained in special fields. There are experts of all kinds, +on both local and national levels: waterfront organizers specializing in +seamen’s groups; labor organizers interested in penetrating labor unions; +organizers in virtually every other field, such as aircraft, mining, +steel, agriculture, youth, nationality groups. Then there are fund +raisers, recruiters, Marxist teachers, organizational experts. + +If a Party district is planning, let us say, a special organizing drive, +an expert from national headquarters or another district may arrive to +assume charge. He may deal with top officials or descend to club levels. +He may stay a few hours, a week, or even months. John Williamson for many +years was considered one of the Party’s top labor experts. Henry Winston +was an authority on organizational problems. Both Williamson and Winston +were convicted under the Smith Act; Williamson later accepted voluntary +deportation to Great Britain and has since been reported to have served +as liaison between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the United +States Party. + +If the visitor is a high national officer, special arrangements are +usually made to receive him with “extreme cordiality.” If his schedule is +crowded, a rank-and-filer may be assigned as a chauffeur. Never must the +Party be regarded as a “desk-type” organization, operating only through +letters, telegrams, and phone calls. It is a fast, hard-hitting, mobile +organization, based primarily on personal contacts, with its officials +traveling thousands of miles a year by auto, train, and air to pursue +subversive activities. + + +Level 3: Regional and Local Units + +This layer provides the broad base for the pyramid and includes the +remainder of the Party structure. The United States is divided into +Communist Party districts, some of which have jurisdiction over more than +one state. The Ohio State Communist Party, directed principally from +Cleveland, Ohio, for example, includes the states of Ohio and Kentucky +and West Virginia’s four northern “panhandle” counties. + +Communist membership is strongest in the Northeast section of the United +States. The greatest concentration of Communist Party members is in the +area of New York City. Other states having large numbers of communists +are California, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, +Connecticut, Michigan, and Massachusetts. Few members, relatively +speaking, reside in Southern and Rocky Mountain states. + +District (or state) organizations, patterned on the national structure, +hold periodic conventions, “elect” state committees, and have officers. +Hence there is a Chairman, New York State Communist Party, or Secretary, +Ohio State Communist Party. Sometimes state conventions are held in +“split sessions”: the first, before the National Convention when selected +topics, such as those proposed in the “draft program,” are “discussed”; +the second, after the national meeting when the state convention +reassembles to ratify the decisions of the national body. State leaders +take no chances, they stay on the Party line. + +Many states and districts have open headquarters. In recent years +most were closed, but the Party realizes that an open headquarters is +essential in carrying out its day-to-day agitational work. These Party +offices are usually located downtown in a dingy room or suite in an old +building. Battered desks, with typewriter, Mimeograph machine (the good +right arm of the Party), and perhaps a literature rack are standard +equipment. Here are the offices of the state chairman, state secretary, +and other officers. An old-time communist, usually a woman, will “triple” +as receptionist, stenographer, and Mimeograph operator. Knowing all the +members, she’s a good “lookout” and can answer most questions: Has Oscar +come back from vacation? Where does Joyce work? Is Ruth a club chairman? + +Normally, headquarters is a busy place, with people going in and out all +day long. Here special state, county, and city meetings are held as well +as personal conferences. The busiest items in the place are chairs; they +seldom have a rest until after midnight. + +The local organizational structure, under state (or district) +headquarters, varies from area to area. The city (or county) sections +in turn are subdivided. Intracity sections may encompass several wards, +each, like the county, having its own set of officers. Each section, of +course, is rigidly controlled from the top. + +The basic unit, at the bottom of the whole structure, is the _club_, +formerly known as the cell, like the one described at the beginning of +this chapter. Clubs are of various types: _community clubs_, comprising +members who live in a certain geographical area; _shop clubs_, composed +of members who work at a certain company; _industrial clubs_, which +include members employed in the same basic industry, such as steel, +automobile, aluminum, though working for different industrial firms; and +_specialized clubs_, appealing to professions or other natural groupings. +In the latter category, for example, there may be a professional section +(often called white-collar), comprising clubs of teachers, doctors, or +lawyers. A few members, especially the deeply concealed communists, do +not belong to any club but are considered as _members-at-large_, subject +to control only from headquarters. + +Determining which club a member should join is simple: where can he do +the most good for the Party? If he is employed in the aluminum industry, +for instance, he would probably be instructed to join an aluminum club +(made up of members employed in the aluminum industry). If he is a union +officer, he might join a shop or industrial club. Or, again, if his +membership should be carefully concealed, he would be a member-at-large. +The organizational structure is always in a state of flux, members being +frequently shifted from club to club, while headquarters organizes and +reorganizes sections and clubs, tearing down one, establishing another, +always hoping to gain greater efficiency. + +Each club is required to have a chairman, a financial secretary, and an +educational director. A well-run club has many more officers: literature +director, press chairman, dues secretary, membership chairman, and so +on. The same is true of county, city, and section groups; the communists +have plenty of officers. Moreover, a definite chain of command is always +in effect. Everybody knows his relative position: who are his Party +“inferior” and Party “boss.” Instructions are quickly carried out, and in +the event of an emergency a commanding officer is always available. + +Communist clubs are often named after famous American historical figures +such as Tom Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman. Other +clubs bear the names of communist “heroes” such as John Reed. + + +The Principle of “Democratic Centralism” + +This is a complicated structure, you might say. How does it work? The +point is: _it does work_, efficiently, effectively, and all too often to +the detriment of this nation. The whole Party organization, regardless of +its structural shape, is based on strict discipline, a rigid hierarchy, +and a unified structure. + +The cement that holds it together is a principle called _democratic +centralism_. That sounds like a contradiction in terms; it is. But +communists like fancy words to fool their opponents and, perhaps, to +satisfy themselves. Democratic centralism is the basic principle of +communist organizational structure—a term meaning, in actual practice, +simple, naked, and unadulterated dictatorship. + +According to communists, Party members have a right to participate in +formulating policy and electing officers. That is, to them, democracy in +action. + +An issue has arisen. The city is planning to close a play-ground. +What stand will the Party take? All members are encouraged to express +opinions. There may be different points of view. + +Then a decision is made—the communists say by an “election,” but actually +it is by the leader clique. The city’s action will be opposed. From that +moment, “centralism” takes over and “democratic” falls away. All members, +regardless of their previous opinions, are required to support the +Party’s stand. No minority can exist. + +Democratic centralism, communist leaders claim, combines the “strictest +discipline with the widest initiative and independent activity of the +Party membership.” It is “democratic” because of the preliminary “free +discussion of issues” and “right of election”; it is “centralism” because +once a decision is made, the discipline of the Party enforces the +decision. This is the ideal type of organizational structure, say the +communists. + +The tyranny and dictatorship that are part and parcel of the Communist +Party are laid down by the rule: all lower Party organizations are +subordinated to the higher bodies, and the highest of all are the +Congresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which are run by +the Kremlin. + +A practical demonstration of democratic centralism at work recently +occurred in New York City. As we have mentioned, a campaign was launched +to circulate a petition to put Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the +National Committee, on the ballot as candidate for the New York City +Council. Although the 1957 National Convention of the Party emphasized +that Party members could dissent from official Party policy, William +Weinstone, another member of the National Committee, issued the order +that “Those members who may not agree with this campaign should +nevertheless understand that it is their duty to participate in signature +getting.” + +We in the FBI, through confidential sources of information, know what +goes on in hundreds of these meetings. We know who the speakers are, +what they say (and don’t say), what decisions are made. These “free +discussions” would be amusing but for the deadly malady they highlight: a +ruthless thought control. + +Communist members learn what to think, how to vote, what to say by a +process of “automatic osmosis”—the seeping of predigested thoughts along +the Party line into all subordinate minds, disciplined to accept. The +members become ideological sleepwalkers, drugged into complete obedience +by an unconscious discipline. + +Sometimes, absurd as it may seem, secret ballots are used. Members go +through all the motions of argument, taking a vote, nominating and +electing officers. They become excited, waving their arms, pounding +desks, shaking their fists. You would think there was open opposition. +But that is merely part of the show. Communist thought control, +operating through Party ranks, is a terrifying spectacle, freezing into +fixed rigidity the mental processes of thousands. + +Seen in its true light, democratic centralism is a deceptive cloak +dropped over a ruthless dictatorship. + +Sometimes a member, somehow or other, does not fathom the Party line. He +says something out of step. He is simply “ill-informed” and needs more +“education.” A Party school or a conference will probably bring him back +to his “right senses.” + +Occasionally a stubborn member will persist in criticism. That takes +courage. He is made of metal the communist thought-control machine has +not yet melted. He carries the fight to higher Party bodies. But he can’t +win and out he goes. + +In one instance a member was accused of falling down on the job. The +section organizer recommended that he be removed from both his Party +office and the county executive committee. + +“He’s irresponsible,” stormed one old-time comrade, “and in the Soviet +Union irresponsibles are not voted out of office—they are shot!” + +That’s democratic centralism, the organizational principle that has +welded the Communist Party, USA, into a terrible instrument poised and +eager to destroy this country if given the opportunity. + + + + +11. + +_This Is the Party!_ + + +What about life in the Party, how members live, who they are, how they +earn their money, what they do with their time, and how they get their +orders? The following are accounts of day-to-day activities of Party life. + +Eleanor is washing the dishes. Her husband, Henry, has just gone to work. +The two children are scurrying around the house, ready to leave for +school. + +Suddenly there is a knock on the door. It is Ruth, who lives across the +street. Ruth is chairman of the East Side Communist Club. Her husband, +Robert, is state secretary of the Communist Party and a full-time paid +functionary. + +“Starting the day out just right,” smiles Ruth. “The kitchen is all +cleaned up. You can come and help us.” + +Ruth outlines her plans. The state office needs some typing done this +morning. Eleanor was a stenographer before she married and often helps +on a part-time basis at headquarters. She is a trusted member. But that +is not all. In the afternoon Eleanor is to make “some calls”; that is, +visit some comrades. She must pass out word that the next meeting of the +county executive committee will be held on Friday evening. This message +cannot be given over the telephone. Then tonight will be the regular +meeting of the East Side Club. Eleanor probably won’t get home in time to +fix supper. If she doesn’t, Henry and the kids can make some cold meat +sandwiches. Besides, Henry is scheduled to meet with the state education +secretary tonight and he won’t have time to eat supper anyway. + +Life in the Party! For good members nothing is left for life outside the +Party. The housewife is doing typing, running errands, Mimeographing, +arranging meetings, collecting dues; her husband, even while working at +the grocery store, in the shoe factory, or at the service station, is +thinking of his Party assignment that night, distributing literature, +soliciting money, serving as a courier. The Party is the most important +force in their lives. + +If anybody joins the Communist Party expecting to lead an easy life, +perhaps read Marx and Engels, buy some literature, and not exert much +effort, he is completely misguided. Party work is hard, tough work, and +the Party is a ruthless task-master. The member is always on the run, +doing this and doing that. He has no spare time, energy, or money for +himself. His whole life becomes dominated. The Party is his school, +source of friends, and recreation, his substitute for God. Communism +wants the _total_ man, hence it is _total_itarian. That is part of its +indoctrination policy: by concentrating everything on the Party, all +other interests are squeezed out. + +Day and night the Party structure is buzzing with action: fund drives, +registration of members, collection of dues, sale of literature. +Leaflets must be passed out on Olive Street, a picket line formed at +city hall, a meeting attended. Workers, not playboys, are wanted; or as +one Party spokesman expressed it, we must rid ourselves of the member +who “makes noises like an eager beaver but accomplishes little.” A major +characteristic of the Communist Party is perpetual motion. + +The man who keeps this subversive beehive of activity going is the paid +Party functionary. He is the key to the whole apparatus. Working on +national, state, and local levels, he pumps in energy, gives orders, +coaxes, cajoles, threatens, smiles, scowls, pleads, anything to keep the +Party bustling. + +Most communist functionaries are old-timers with ten, fifteen, or twenty +years of service. Some have been trained abroad, possibly in the Lenin +School in Moscow. They are transferred at frequent intervals, depending +on the needs of the Party. One may serve as an organizer in California, +as a section secretary in Rhode Island, or as a fund-raiser in Florida. +Their full-time job is to advance the communist cause. The Party employs +women functionaries, especially on the lower levels. During World War II, +when many male comrades were drafted, a number of Party offices were run +by women. + +Salaries vary, depending on the size and location of assignment, but they +average fifty to seventy dollars weekly. As a general rule, officials are +paid by the local organization, although the national office, in case +of a deficit, may step in with cash. Some functionaries operate on an +expense account, especially if they travel. + +The communist official will probably live in a modest neighborhood. His +wife will patronize the corner grocery store, his children attend the +local school. If a shoe store or a butcher shop is operated by a Party +member, the official will probably get a discount on his purchases. + +Most Party officials drive cars, usually older models. They are +generally out late at night attending meetings. A car is essential for +transportation and carrying literature. Except for special affairs, +communist activity is slight early in the morning. The organizer, coming +in around midnight or one o’clock, will sleep late. But that doesn’t mean +all day. One Southern official was severely censured for sleeping too +late; to solve the problem the Party bought him an electric alarm clock. + +Functionaries eat away from home a great deal. They generally are +well versed on “cozy” places where they can talk with a minimum of +observation. Much Party business is conducted at luncheon appointments. +Their wives are also engaged in Party work, and often both are away from +home night after night. “Home,” to the communist organizer, is more a +place to sleep than to enjoy restful relaxation. + +If a Party convention is to be held, and many out-of-town delegates are +coming in, the organizer may turn his apartment into a temporary hotel. +He will pull out all the spare cots, beds, and blankets and “put up” a +half-dozen visitors. + +The paid official’s job is to keep the Party going, to see that +everybody has something to do, that meetings are scheduled, that money +is collected, that the Party’s program is carried out. He may start +his day around ten-thirty or eleven o’clock with a “staff” conference +at headquarters. There he will discuss the day’s agenda with other +officials, give or receive orders, and get squared away for the day’s +work. + +The organizer must be a fairly intelligent man with an ability to get +along with people. He is always asking for something: Can you deliver +papers, how about attending this class, making a speech? He must know +how to overcome fears, suspicions, and laziness, and encourage members +to work. He may, for example, approach a member for a donation: “We need +five hundred dollars. Sell your car and donate the money.” Communists +come up with all kinds of schemes. The organizer must go out and “sell” +the idea. + +He also spends a great deal of time smoothing out personal problems. In +one case a communist “love triangle” erupted. A young Party member, even +though married, decided that she loved another member’s husband. The +man’s wife, however, was determined to fight. The problem reached such +bitterness that the trio’s Party work began to suffer. There was little +hope of solving it by themselves. So the state chairman stepped in. + +He talked to them personally. They poured out their inner feelings. The +young woman and her “lover” requested Party approval for a divorce. A few +days later the wife, with fire in her eyes, told the state chairman she +wanted three months’ leave of absence from the Party to regain the love +of her husband. A regular free-for-all was brewing. The Party, however, +exerted pressure and the situation was settled. No divorce was approved. +The organizer must be ready at any hour to settle everything, from a +hair-pulling contest to the distribution of an estate. + +For most members the Party is their whole life. If any problems arise, +changing jobs, adopting a child, lawsuits, etc., they solve them with +the Party’s advice. If a member has a case of ulcers, the organizer will +recommend a “Party doctor”; if somebody is threatening suit, he will +suggest a “Party lawyer”; if one has lost his job, he might know somebody +in the Party, perhaps the owner of a store, a union-shop steward, or an +industrial executive, who will help out. + +The Party, in many respects, is a vast paternalistic system. Not that it +is humanitarian, full of mercy, or interested in the members’ welfare. +Nothing like that. The Party’s interests come first. If a member is +sick, tied up with a lawsuit, or unemployed, his Party work will suffer. +Each member should be in top working shape at all times. The Party +functionary’s job is to seek out and solve these problems. He is an +administrator, expediter, and nursemaid. + +Also, any activity that might injure the Party must be prevented. The +discipline of the Party, exercised through the functionary, extends to +the most intimate details of personal life. Here are a few actual cases: + + A member in Ohio desired to adopt a child whose parents were + members of the Catholic Church, and the member had taken steps + to join the Church. The state chairman was furious and said no. + Finally the member asserted his independence and left the Party. + + * * * * * + + Another member, in the Party’s eyes, manifested “bourgeois” + tendencies. He spent too much time working on his house! He was + removed from his Party position. + + * * * * * + + One member in the state of Washington went to Alaska, without + permission, to secure a job. He was suspended on the ground + that he would attract the FBI’s attention in Alaska. + + * * * * * + + A member in New York City, age thirty-five, was dropped from + the rolls. Why? In the Party’s eyes he was too much dominated + by his mother. + +Sometimes the functionary will order the member to take an affirmative +step: + + A strawberry farmer was visited in Everett, Washington, by a + Party fund-raiser who demanded one hundred dollars, which the + farmer did not have. The farmer was ordered to mortgage his + house. He refused and was expelled for failure to abide by + Communist Party discipline. + + * * * * * + + In Philadelphia the district organizer called at the residence + of a couple with a long record of devoted Party activity. + The organizer announced that the wife was being dropped from + the Party because she was anticommunist. When pressed for an + explanation, the organizer stated he had concluded that the + wife had written critical letters regarding the Party leaders, + which she vigorously denied. The organizer then advanced a + further reason. A news account had appeared in the papers + recounting that her brother, an Air Force Reservist, had been + killed in a plane crash and she had failed to advise the Party + that he had been called to active duty. The wife then made the + futile complaint that, since she was being dropped from the + Party and not expelled, she had no way to appeal the decision + or to defend herself. Then the organizer told the husband that + he had to either leave his wife and children or be dropped + from the Party. When he elected to remain with his wife, he + was ousted from the Party, as was a former Party organizer who + continued to associate with the wife. + + * * * * * + + A promising young communist was attending a Communist Party + training school in New York. He was called out of class and + advised that the Party had decided that he was to marry a young + lady who had just arrived from Hungary on a student visa. + The Party felt the girl was promising Party material. The + communist went to City Hall accompanied by a fellow student, + the bride-to-be, and her sister. The ceremony was performed, + which enabled the girl to stay in the United States since she + was now married to an American citizen. The marriage was in + form only, and three years later the girl secured a divorce. In + the meantime the young communist was sent to West Virginia as a + functionary and started living with another girl. She also had + a citizenship problem. This was met when the two were called to + New York for a meeting. In passing through Elkton, Maryland, + they secured a marriage license and returned after the New York + meeting for the ceremony. The girl then went on to Chicago. + When the communist finally met the lady of his choice, he went + to a communist lawyer who arranged for an annulment of the + second marriage on the ground that a prenuptial agreement to + join the church had been violated. + +The Party functionary can order members to resign from one job and accept +another, to move from one town to another, to stop seeing their families +and friends, to lie, cheat, or steal. + +Then there is the problem of money. The functionary is always prodding. +First, members must pay dues. They are collected monthly from each member +and give the Party a substantial source of revenue. Payments of dues are +based on regular schedules, depending on a member’s income. Here is a +sample schedule: + + _Income Per Week_ _Dues Per Month_ + Housewives .50 + Students .50 + Unemployed .50 + To $80 $1.00 + To $110 $2.50 + Over $110 $5.00 + +Dues also serve another purpose: to control the member. The Party +official can keep track of him, see if his interest is waning (if he +doesn’t want to pay), and also, if possible, determine how much money he +actually has (which the Party can later extract). If he falls behind in +payments, the financial secretary will be right after him. + +Another related obligation is to donate money (besides paying dues). +Every member _must_ pay, and pay until it hurts. The Party conducts an +annual fund drive, involving the whole membership. Goals are set for +clubs, sections, regions, and on a national basis. A big celebration, +perhaps a dance or a dinner, marks the “kick-off,” and a definite +conclusion date is established. During this period, say September 1 to +October 15, a white heat of intensity is reached. The theme: “Money, +money, money.” No member, regardless of excuse, is spared. If the amount +isn’t reached, the campaign is extended. + +How much should a member give? Usually a week’s wages is the accepted +minimum. If a comrade has extra sources of income, the amount will be +higher. + +The Party raises money, lots of it. In one fund drive alone, for example, +national headquarters announced a collection of over 165,000 dollars. +And the campaign was still not complete. The nickels and dimes (although +communists say they like “folding money” best) soon add up. With the +effectiveness of a vacuum cleaner, the Party pulls money from everywhere. + +Laggards, renegers, and backsliders are pushed hard. “That’s not enough. +You’re a piker,” the Party organizer will scoff. Sections and clubs vie +for “collection honors.” The first state or district to reach its quota +is enthusiastically hailed. + +But that is not the end of “donations.” Time after time there are +assessments or special fund drives. They come like snowflakes in a winter +storm. Party leaders have been arrested, they need help! (Defense Fund). +The _Daily Worker_ needs money—urgently! (Press Fund). The Party must +have 100,000 dollars in thirty days! (Emergency Fund). An “emergency” is +always stalking the Communist Party. The best way to solve it is money. +The only thing better is more money. The cost to members: at least a +day’s pay for each special fund. + +Fund drives do not exhaust the financial wizardry of the communists. +Money is obtained in still other ways, such as Hallowe’en parties, +dances, waffle parties, going-away affairs, testimonial dinners, +anniversaries (such as of the October Revolution in Russia or the +birthday of Lenin). In most instances tickets are sold and, in addition, +a collection may be taken up. Everything you have belongs to the Party. +That’s the philosophy. + +One top leader explained how to obtain contributions. Visit the +prospective victim. Take along an out-of-town comrade (he’s the +high-pressure expert) and a local member. The latter should have plenty +of money with him. The prospective victim might say, “Yes, I’d like to +contribute, but I haven’t any money now”—the easy way out. If so, the +local comrade would interrupt and say, “Fine, I’ll lend you the money. +Would a hundred dollars be enough?” This squeeze always works, the leader +said. Blank checks are also carried. + +To show how far money-raising can go, one member dreamed up the idea that +bodies of deceased comrades should be sold for medical experimentation. +The Party would gain doubly: first it demanded the fee for the cadaver +and then the money ordinarily spent for the burial. Another member +suggested that gifts no longer be given at “stork” showers for expectant +mothers. This money should be donated to the Party. + +Then there are extra revenue sources. At the end of World War II, Party +officials requested comrades returning from military service to donate +part of their bonus money. In many instances they set the actual amount. +If the member didn’t comply, he might be disciplined. + +Estates are also juicy morsels. If members, or maybe sympathizers, have +any extra money, the Party urges that wills be executed naming the Party +or certain functionaries as beneficiaries. Large sums are thus often +gained. + +Some years ago a former Episcopal bishop died in Ohio. Years before, +during an illness, he had started reading Marx and other communist +books. Then he turned author and wrote a book entitled _Communism and +Christianism_, wherein he expressed doubt that Christ had ever lived, and +asserted that he had “found Christ via Karl Marx.” The bishop was given a +trial by his church and deposed. Following his death, his will provided +that the residue of his estate, valued at between 300,000 and 400,000 +dollars, was to go to a corporation whose trustees were to devote all or +any part of it to the cause of communism as “propagated by Karl Marx.” + +Another communist sympathizer in Oregon a few years ago received more +than 100,000 dollars upon the death of a son. A communist friend +persuaded the sympathizer to bequeath a part of his estate to two West +Coast communists. + +A Party member died in Massachusetts in 1953, leaving a 14,000-dollar +bank account and real estate to the Party, naming three Party officials +as executors of his will. + +Over the years the Party has been blessed by angels and foundations whose +money was made through the American free enterprise system and is then +used in an attempt to destroy the system that made wealth and affluence +possible. + +In years past, each member was given a membership card or book (which +was numbered) on which he could paste his “dues stamps,” showing that +he was current on this obligation. But today, for security reasons, +this practice is no longer followed. Membership records, if kept, are +carefully concealed, and only a trusted few know their whereabouts. +Sometimes elaborate code, color, and tab combinations are used on such +records to indicate the name, occupation, sex, length of Party service, +etc., of the members. + +To join the Communist Party does not automatically mean life tenure. +Memberships must be renewed every year or, in communist language, members +are “reregistered.” This represents another means of control. If a member +is delinquent in dues or donations, he’ll have to pay a penalty, perhaps +contribute ten dollars, or be disciplined. These annual registration +drives are important events in Party life. Each member is personally +contacted. Clubs and sections compete for speed and percentage of +successful registration. The drives usually start in October and often +extend well past the December 31 deadline. + +A member moves. His district organization will send details concerning +him to his new area: name, Party history, whether dues are paid, along +with any other remarks. A member may be given half of a dollar bill and +the other half forwarded to the new district. When the member arrives, +the halves are matched. Identity is thus established. + +So it goes, a constant round of rushing, driving, pushing, paying, never +time to stop. The member is regimented from life to death. His chief +obligation: to follow instructions eagerly, energetically, obediently. +He is a mere wisp of living matter, born, as a _Daily Worker_ birth +announcement proclaimed, “for swelling our ranks.” + +This complete absorption in the Party creates an exhilaration that warps +judgment. One comrade became so wrought up over the supposed superiority +of communist culture that he cited statistics that the Soviet soldier in +World War II was an inch taller and had a chest one and a half inches +larger than his Czarist counterpart! + +Such fervor sounds laughable, but it is symptomatic of paranoiac +behavior. To an individual like this, any communist achievement surpasses +anything American. This bigoted communist fanaticism drives members to +mortgage their homes, spend years in underground shelters, and betray +their native land. + +Even in death a member may become a pawn to enhance the Party. The +passing of a prominent comrade invariably is the occasion for a “state +funeral.” The departed member is now a valuable showpiece and his passing +is exploited to the fullest extent. On such occasions the deceased lies +in state on the day of the funeral, with “mourners” passing the bier. A +large, blown-up photograph of the deceased, draped in black, hangs at the +rear of the stage. An honor guard of from two to four comrades stands at +attention wearing red armbands. + +There is seldom a religious quality to the music, eulogies, or the +“mourners’” conduct. At the “state funeral” of Mother Ella Reeve Bloor in +1951 the “mourners” talked, laughed, and smoked. + +The eulogies are numerous and recount the contributions made by the +deceased to the Communist Party, to the advancement of socialism, and +state how the Party can learn from the life of the departed. At Mother +Bloor’s funeral in New York City, for example, Pettis Perry, a member of +the National Committee, said: + + This is not farewell to you, Mother Bloor. We pledge to follow + in your footsteps.... We will build your Party and our Party + and some day we will have a nation and a society built on the + brotherhood of man.... + +At the funeral of Peter V. Cacchione, an elected member of the New York +City Council, nineteen speakers delivered eulogies. Gilbert Green, then +chairman of the Party in Illinois, speaking for the National Committee, +observed that the deceased fell in the struggle as “a soldier in the +cause of human freedom,” and vowed that the remaining comrades would take +“the banner from his hands.” + +After such services a cortege of automobiles laden with mourners journeys +from the funeral hall to the cemetery. As Mother Bloor was lowered into +her grave at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden, New Jersey, Walter Lowenfels, +then the Philadelphia correspondent of the _Daily Worker_, read Walt +Whitman’s poem, “The Mystic Trumpeter.” + +At the Cacchione interment Henry Winston, a member of the National +Committee, delivered these parting words, “We are confident, as you were, +dear Pete, in ultimate victory.... We will carry out your heritage.” + +Through it all runs the hope, not of life everlasting, but of communism +everlasting—if the members can be stirred up to work harder. + + + + +12. + +_Making Communist Man_ + + +In the last chapter we examined life in the Party—the constant hustle, +collecting of dues, registration of members, holding of conferences, +issuing of instructions. + +These activities, however, have a meaning more sinister than just keeping +the Party going, a meaning that we over-look at our peril. It is this: +the Party is a vast workshop where the member is polished and shined, his +impurities melted out, his loyalty to communism strengthened. He is made +into _communist man_. + +The revolution requires, as Lenin taught, that the fanatical believer be +a man who, if so instructed, will give his life to the cause. He’s the +paid functionary we met in the last chapter, the agitator and propaganda +agent we’ll see in future pages. Without him communism would be just +another “ism.” + +This type of man doesn’t just grow; he must be created. To understand +fully how this happens, we must now briefly examine the Party’s +educational, press, literature, and cultural programs, its chief weapons +of indoctrination. + +Suppose one joined the Party. How would these techniques of regimentation +affect the new member? We can best consider this question under several +headings. + + +Back to School + +One of the first things a new member does is to go to a school. He’ll +receive his instructions soon after joining, probably from his club +chairman. And as long as he stays in the Party, he’ll continue to go to +school. Even the grizzled veterans go. There’s a diabolical reason behind +this, which we’ll soon see. + +Most people don’t think of the Communist Party as an educational +institution. Yet year after year the Party operates a school system +of vast proportions: theory schools; orientation schools; specialized +schools in current events, history, economics, social problems; schools +in Party techniques: how to collect dues, recruit new members, serve as +a club chairman, be a better public speaker; and, of course, schools +on revolutionary tactics and procedure. In recent years the Party +has been extremely subtle in teaching its doctrines of revolution, +always remembering federal laws such as the Smith Act, which prohibits +advocating the overthrow of the United States government by force and +violence. + +Education, in the communist scheme, means indoctrination, imbuing the +member with qualities desired by the Party. The pertinent question always +is: How can the member be trained to serve the Party better? + +Classes are held on all levels—local, state, regional, and national, +varying in length from an hour to several weeks. For security reasons +members meet in an isolated building, a home, or even in an automobile or +a public park. The teacher is usually a paid functionary or someone from +the county or state educational commission. Class consists of an extended +lecture, perhaps for an hour or so, followed by discussion. As a general +rule, no note-taking is allowed. The class over, each student leaves, +careful not to attract attention. + +After the beginning, or orientation, school (where members are soaked +with Aesopian double talk) is over, the member is ready for a more +advanced class. Never is he told at the outset that he is being changed +into a Bolshevik, that his loyalty is being shifted to Soviet Russia, and +that the American government must be overthrown. That would scare him +away. The Party’s indoctrination process is slow and gradual. The member +himself seldom realizes that bit by bit his precommunist training is +being extracted and replaced by Party ideology. + +Most important, he is grounded in love of the Party. This is a cardinal +duty of the communist teacher. + + ... the cause of Communism is the greatest and most arduous + cause in the history of mankind. + + * * * * * + + To sacrifice one’s personal interests and even one’s life + without the slightest hesitation and even with a feeling of + happiness, for the cause of the Party ... is the highest + manifestation of Communist ethics. + + * * * * * + + The true Communist ... must feel that the Party does not owe + him a thing; it is he who owes everything ... to the Party. + +Party schools make extensive use of study outlines and lesson aids +supplied by national, state, and local educational commissions. They are +written in a simple style and slanted to the average reader. Many contain +suggested readings, illustrative examples, and review questions. Usually +Mimeographed, they deal with all phases of the Party’s program. Sample +titles are “Lenin and Our Party,” “World Significance of the Events in +China,” “New Members Session and Introduction in the Communist Party,” +and “Farmers in the Coalition.” + +Amazing attention is shown to detail. In advanced classes members will +have homework and examinations. As part of the instruction, classes often +are given practical “field work.” Students in one Midwestern school +were dismissed, divided into teams, and sent to industrial plants to +distribute Party literature. That evening they reassembled to discuss +their experiences and receive ideas on how better to do the job. + +The longer one stays in the Party, the more specialized are the classes +he attends. The goal, of course, is to be selected to attend a national +leadership school. This means going to New York City or a Party camp and +staying several weeks. Students probably will not know the true names of +their fellow students; they’ll remember them as Sam (an alias), the man +with the crooked arm, the redheaded girl who talked so much, the old man +with the green shirt. That’s part of the Party’s security program. + +The communist educational system is extremely practical: training members +to do what the Party needs. Perhaps more Mimeograph operators are needed; +then there’ll be a Mimeograph school. Maybe more dues secretaries are +needed; then there’ll be a dues secretaries’ school. All the time, +through training, the member is being pulled more closely under Party +discipline. + + +Home Study + +Another indoctrination technique is self- or home study. Going to school +is important, but at best it can be for only an hour a day or several +weeks a year. More study is needed to bind the member to the Party. + +One Party directive puts it this way: + + Every Communist must read and study the classics of our + literature, past and present. Everyone must rigorously enforce + the slogan, “One night a week for Marxist study.” + +Communists may be busy or deeply involved in other Party work. But they +must also carry on self-study or, as the communists call it, _ideological +self-cultivation_ or _raising the ideological level of the member_. This +means daily readings in the communist bible—the works of Marx, Engels, +and Lenin. (Following Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin, the late +dictator’s works were appreciably de-emphasized in Party study programs.) +This is not something optional; it is an absolute requirement. To study +the communist “masters,” says the Party, is to be made “perfect” as they +were “perfect”—and incidentally to make members work harder selling +papers, collecting dues, and handing out leaflets. + +In the final analysis this communist education, like all phases of the +Party’s program, is geared to _revolutionary action_. “It is for the +Party and for the victory of the revolution that we study.” The Party +isn’t training its members just for fun. Each one must be steeled, +hardened, and purified of his capitalist “scum,” “filth,” and “dirt.” +The new member was born and reared under capitalism and, in communist +eyes, therefore he is infected with “selfishness,” “intrigue,” “class +attitudes.” “Is it anything strange,” one communist writer asks, “that +there are muddy stains on a person who crawls out of the mud...?” + +These stains must be washed off. It’s a lifetime job. Non-Party or +“capitalist” attitudes keep cropping out. Some have been inherited, +others newly acquired from capitalist contamination. That’s why even +old-time members keep attending school. It’s like cleaning a skillet that +tarnishes. Constant scrubbing (more indoctrination) is needed to make and +keep the member ideologically pure. + +Communist education is constantly seeking to destroy the “remnants of +bourgeois ideology,” the undigested lumps of independence not yet crushed +by communist thought control. That is the gnawing fear of all communist +regimes: that an undigested lump will be missed, that somewhere lying +undetected is a member who has not been completely indoctrinated. This +individual is a potential enemy who may someday rise against his masters. + +The Party has a term, _political maturity_, to signify the member who has +been so indoctrinated that, as a matter of sixth sense, he will always +know the Party line. + + +Party Literature + +The Party’s literature program (comprising newspapers, magazines, +pamphlets, and books) is a companion to Party schools and self-study in +helping to create communist man. + +These publications, regardless of their form, tell but one story, the +Party’s story. The member must believe no other. For this purpose the +Party is operating a multihundred-thousand-dollar propaganda machine. + +Inside the Party the refrain is constantly heard: Buy our literature. +“Got a nickel, mister? Try this pamphlet.” “You don’t want to miss +our paper.” “Here, subscribe to _Political Affairs_” (the Party’s +monthly theoretical magazine). The pressure is terrific. Party-operated +bookstores and newspaper carrier routes distribute a steady stream of +Party literature, as do the clubs themselves. + +“We probably circulate more literature per member of our organization by +ten times,” one former Party leader said, “than any other organization in +existence.” + +The Party’s chief newspaper is the _Daily Worker_ (and its week-end +edition, _The Worker_), published in New York City. On the West Coast +it’s the _People’s World_ (a weekly published in San Francisco). + +Don’t think of the _Daily Worker_ in terms of your own daily newspaper. +It is strictly a propaganda organ. A tabloid with bold, black headlines, +its “news” stories, editorials, book reviews, even its sports columns, +are slanted to promote the Party’s views. + +For example, _Daily Worker_ sports writer Lester Rodney, in his column +“On the Scoreboard,” praises “the phenomenal and growing successes of +the Soviet Union in the world of sports.” He says, “... the answer is +socialism. If Russians were just so all-fired hot as Russians, where were +all their champion teams and athletes under the Czar?” + +In obvious glee Rodney writes: “So fellow sports lovers, this socialism +deserves a little open-minded study, at least, that’s clear. (There’s a +fine school over on Sixth Ave. and 16th St. where you can study it if +you’re lucky enough to be a New Yorker.)” The Jefferson School of Social +Science, a front school, was then located at this address. + +And Rodney couldn’t miss the chance for another propaganda plug: + + Just one more thing and really the most important for today + with all the “Soviet menace” hogwash. No matter what you may + or may not think of their socialism, it is self-evident that a + nation which loves to play and is turning out fine athletes in + increasing numbers and building more and more sports fields is + a nation which is thinking about peace and not war. + +The _Daily Worker_ serves as a unifier of policy, an organizer of action, +and a Party builder. It is a public document. Hence, don’t expect to find +there Party secrets, such as the identities of underground officials or +decisions of confidential meetings. However, for those who understand +its double talk it provides a quick means to communicate the Party line. +Moreover, it does not let the membership forget the identity of the +Party’s enemies and sometimes its friends. Like a vast searchlight, it +gives direction to members, wherever they may be. + +Day after day the _Daily Worker_ drills a central theme into its readers: +that life in the United States is terrible; that only in communist +countries, especially in the Soviet Union, is life worth living at all. + +The day’s news is scanned for some incident to distort and use to +browbeat the United States. Any action of the American government is +always, somehow or other, part of a conspiracy to engulf the world +in World War III. One rat in a tenement house becomes an army of +rats devouring thousands of people. Pick out every weakness, real or +imaginary. Stir up dissension. Try to weaken morale. + +After Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin, the _Daily Worker_ carried +some criticism of Soviet Russia, for the most part pertaining to +anti-Semitism and illegal arrests. Certain aspects of Russia’s +intervention in Hungary were also criticized. Highly novel for the _Daily +Worker_, this criticism apparently reflected the personal views of John +Gates, the editor. Gates, of all the top Party leaders, appeared to have +been most affected by Khrushchev’s revelations. He was severely attacked, +however, by other Party officials, including William Z. Foster, and his +resignation was demanded. Nevertheless, despite this limited criticism, +the _Daily Worker_ remained loyal to the over-all aims of Soviet Russia +and continues to belittle, mock, and criticize American life. + +This loyalty to things Russian has caused the _Daily Worker_ to perform +some interesting gymnastics. A good example was the famous “Doctors’ +Plot,” early in 1953, just before Stalin’s death. Moscow reported the +arrest of nine doctors charged with plotting to kill high-ranking Soviet +officials. “Moscow Nips Plot to Kill Army Chiefs,” headlined _The Worker_ +(January 18, 1953), obviously happy. Then the doctors were suddenly +released. Back-flipped _The Worker_ with the greatest of ease: “The Case +of the Soviet Doctors, How a Socialist State Protects Its Citizens” +(April 12, 1953). + +In March, 1953, _The Worker_ reported Stalin’s death. “STALIN: Man of +Peace,” “The Cobbler’s Son Who Built a New World,” “‘His Name and His +Work Will Endure Through the Ages,’” “Stalin—Architect of a Working +People’s World.” In 1956 the headlines shifted: “Lenin’s Principles +Abandoned by Stalin,” “Minorities Were Exiled and Mistreated,” “Says +Stalin Unleashed Mass Terror 1936-1937.” One writer headed his column: +“Stalin Wasn’t God—And We Weren’t Angels.” + +Communists regard themselves as “apostles” of a new order living +in “enemy-controlled” territory. Communists claim that the _Daily +Worker_ cuts through the “capitalist press” and its smog of “lies,” +“distortions,” and “fakes,” bringing “truthful information.” This is the +highest principle of a “free press.” + +The communist press, with its bigoted, perverted, single point of view, +is a disturbing reality. It seeks the definite, systematic, and mass +indoctrination of the minds of men to trust only the Party. Truth becomes +what a group of men say it is. + +Here’s an example of how “freedom of the press” works for the communists: + +A Party leader hurried toward the building where a convention was being +held. Just outside the door he paused. An individual was handing out +leaflets urging the election of a slate opposed by the Party. + +“That guy ought to be thrown out,” the Party boss remarked to a +companion. “He’s nothing but a Trotskyite. He shouldn’t be allowed around +here.” + +Some time later the same two men were again attending a meeting. This +time the _Daily Worker_ was being sold outside. The companion objected, +saying this wasn’t a communist meeting. + +“Uh,” retorted the Party member. “This is a free country. You can’t stop +him from passing it out.” + +No wonder communism can operate only in the glow of book burnings. No +opposite view can be tolerated. “Down with non-party writers!” Lenin +demanded. + +As an example, after Browder’s “fall from power” in 1945, many of his +books were burned. Shifts in the Party line also cause book burnings. +One New England headquarters, caught in a Party shift, destroyed three +barrels of literature. What is “true” today in the Party may not be +“true” tomorrow. + +Modern-day techniques of literature dissemination extend the tyranny +of communist indoctrination. The Party wants mass readership. Always +remember that the communists are practical, everyday agitators. Why +publish something at a high price that few will buy? There are few fancy +bindings, engravings, or pictures. Communist publishing firms have +exploited the publication of pamphlet-form editions and paper-backed +volumes, anything to gain circulation and spread the communist message. + +Prices are now higher, but communist literature is today being sold for +five, ten, twenty, twenty-five, and thirty-five cents. Even these prices +are considered too high. “I do not consider a five-cent pamphlet mass +literature. We have to go back to mass penny literature ...,” one Party +leader commented. Amazing circulations have been achieved. Editions of +Lenin’s _Imperialism_ and _State and Revolution_, totaling 100,000 copies +each and costing ten cents a copy, were issued. Other pamphlets were +printed in editions totaling 307,000; 275,000; 350,000; 440,000. + +Everything possible has been done to make available in English the works +of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. A twelve-volume series of Lenin’s +_Selected Works_, over 6000 pages, sells for twenty-five dollars. Marx’s +_The Civil War in France_ is offered for a dollar and fifty cents +(cloth); paper-bound, twenty-five cents. The most important writings of +Lenin are made available in the “Little Lenin Library” (for Marx it’s +the “Little Marx Library”), with prices ranging from five to ninety +cents. Many foreign communist writings are also printed. During the +period 1948-55, according to a report of the United Nations Educational, +Scientific and Cultural Organization, the writings of Lenin were more +widely translated than the Bible, with Stalin’s writings ranking third. +Mention should also be made of communist-shop leaflets, neighborhood +papers, and throwaways that are placed on doorsteps, thrown into parked +cars, or scattered in buildings. Generally Mimeographed, they represent +an easy, cheap, and effective method of stirring up trouble. + +The pressure is terrific—buy, buy, buy. Widely publicized campaigns to +sell the _Daily Worker_ are regular features of Party life. The more +communist material a member reads, the less time he has for reading +“capitalist propaganda.” + + +Cultural Indoctrination + +Even if a member faithfully went to school, studied at home, and read +Party literature, he would still have spare time during which non-Party +thoughts might seep in. That would never do. + +Every facet of the member’s life, even when he plays the piano, sings, +goes to a movie, sees a painting, or reads a book, must be saturated with +communism. Art doesn’t exist for art’s sake. Art, as Lenin taught, is +a weapon of the class struggle. “Culture” becomes an indoctrinal spray +seeking to control every part of the member’s heart, mind, and soul. + +The member is subjected to a barrage of Russian, satellite, and native +communist “cultural” propaganda. There are art exhibits, folk dances, +theater groups, nationality bazaars. Many of these are carried on through +front groups and hence not labeled as communist. The _Daily Worker_ +advertises Soviet movies, which are often shipped to Party units across +the country. Short stories, novels, and poetry come in steady streams. +Forums extol the virtue of Soviet life. Here, the communists say, is the +new “people’s culture,” bringing the “real truth.” + +The theme is always the same: Russia and communism represent a new world +of “hope,” “promise,” and “achievement,” creating “communist man” in all +his “remarkable spiritual qualities.” The United States is a “weak,” +“decadent,” and “sick” country, dominated by vulgar tastes, thievery, and +debauched living. No wonder, according to the _Daily Worker_, the Soviet +soldier in World War II spent his time reading Shakespeare and Tolstoy +while the “uncultured” GI read assorted inferior trash! + +The member is urged to read Soviet literature and see the “glorious” +communist “hero” working his heart out for the regime. This +“hero”—usually just an ordinary, plain fellow (like the member)—can +repair a blast furnace in one day instead of the usual six to eight +weeks. Why? For the glory of communism. Another “hero” is sad and +disheartened. He has bungled his factory job. He wasn’t doing his share. +But a strong arm is around his shoulders, the arm of an experienced +worker. He’ll show the worker “hero” how to break production records, for +communism—when in real life he might be headed for a slave labor camp. + +Day after day this propaganda is dinned into the member. + +Children are included. The Party feels that the basic responsibility +of indoctrinating the child lies with the communist parents. A member +in Buffalo announced, for instance, that a class for children, aged +five to seven, would be held in the basement of her home. Ironically, +it was called “Sunday school” because it was held on Sunday. But, the +member added, this school was not to teach “the word of God or in any +way teach religion.” The instruction obviously would be directed to the +fundamentals of Marxism. + +Books are published for children. One, _Our Lenin_, is a story of Lenin’s +life, translated and adapted “for American children.” In this an American +worker is quoted: “‘It [the Soviet Union] will last forever, and we here +will follow its example.’” It’s a steady diet of propaganda. + +Suppose the member wants to write, paint, or compose music? He, too, must +follow the Party line. His work must promote communism. + +Some of the writings are very crude, but they get across the Party line. +Here’s a poem that appeared in the _Daily Worker_ shortly after Stalin’s +death, eulogizing the Soviet dictator: + + He was melted in the open hearth of feudal czarist oppression + He was forged in the fire of revolution + His chemistry was the chemistry of struggle + And left him as pure as the hope of liberation of the working class + He was alloyed with large masses of the Soviet peoples and heaping + shovelfuls of international brotherhood with just the right + amount of love for humanity to finally make— + A man of steel.... + +An artist wants to paint a flock of birds in a tree. That’s silly, the +Party says. There’s no communist message. Here’s how his idea can be +improved. + +Make one bird a white dove and, presto, you’re right in line with the +communist “peace” offensive. Another improvement: Put a mean-looking +capitalist “warmonger” under the tree taking aim at the peaceful dove. + +Just the name of the picture often gives a communist twist. A drawing of +a sleeping child, cuddling her baby bear, couldn’t be labeled “Slumber.” +No propaganda there. “Too Hungry to Stay Awake” would be better, to show +how people are starving in the United States. A young lady walking down +the street smiling and confident isn’t “Girl on a Stroll” but “Battler +for Peace.” The beauty and power of any work of art must be measured by +“the degree to which it is permeated with the ideas of Communism.” This +is the way, the communists say, that the masses can be directed. + +The Party, in the final analysis, has an interpretation for the whole of +human life. Nothing is untouched: science, psychology, sex, love, care +of children, literature, history, the origin and end of life. Everything +must be absorbed. Communism is a unitary, all-embracing, and absolute +system. + +Not only the present but also the past must be controlled. Communist +writers have already reinterpreted American history, claiming that the +Party is today the true inheritor of the traditions of 1776. They seek to +associate themselves with such men as Paine, Jefferson, and Lincoln, whom +they identify as “advanced fighters” for the ideals that the communists +claim they now represent. For example, the _Daily Worker_ on Lincoln’s +Birthday in 1953 said, “Lincoln’s heritage is carried forward mainly by +the working class and its Marxist party.” + +In literature they seek to pervert such writers as Walt Whitman and Mark +Twain, claiming, for instance, that Whitman’s love of freedom is the +story of their own aims. “... poet and prophet of a people’s democracy” +was the _Daily Worker’s_ salute. + +The Party conducts an annual pilgrimage to Whitman’s tomb in Harleigh +Cemetery, Camden, New Jersey. Mother Bloor, the “old mother” of +communism, made a fetish of her alleged friendship with Whitman. + +Twain’s life, a _Worker_ article asserted, was an inspiration to fight +against “imperialism and war.” + +Carried to its logical conclusion, this attitude creates different +holidays, customs, and habits for the communists. Christmas, for example, +is exploited for propaganda purposes; it is a time to send out cards +for “peace,” to urge amnesty for communists in jail, to appeal for +funds. It holds no religious significance for Party members. A communist +America would celebrate the birth of Karl Marx rather than the birth of +Christendom. + +This constant saturation with communism, through Party education, +literature, the press, and “culture,” has had its effect in shaping +communist man. A comrade writing in _Party Voice_, organ of the New York +State Communist Party, frankly admitted what is happening: + + I have no doubt that there are comrades in our movement who + have not read a single American book outside of progressive + literature in many moons but who can discuss in detail the + latest Soviet book or periodical from China. ... we have many + comrades who have been brought up on Soviet culture and who are + not familiar with the cultural life of our own people. + + * * * * * + + There are some comrades who never see an American film but + confine their movie-going to nothing but foreign films. There + are others who see only the decline and fall of American + culture but fail to see what is new and growing. + +So far has the creation of communist man gone that, in some instances, +Party members are embarrassed to salute the American flag. The _Party +Voice_ comrade tells how embarrassed he felt as he hesitantly saluted the +flag at a Memorial Day parade. “At times I looked up and down the street +and hoped, inwardly, that none of my ‘left’ friends were looking at me.” +So great is the erosion of patriotism that the author even poses this +question: “Should Communists know the verses of the Star-Spangled Banner?” + +This is how communism is working to promote an alien way of life in +America. The whole story, however, is still not told. How are all these +facets of Party life held together? What gives a ruthless uniformity to +Party actions? We must now turn to a study of Party discipline, a system +of terror that holds Party members in the grip of an unbelievable tyranny. + + + + +13. + +_Communist Discipline_ + + +In communist eyes the processes of education, the press, and “culture,” +which we considered in the last chapter, are not enough for molding +the revolutionary. Important as they are, they must be supplemented by +_communist discipline_, a discipline that enforces uniformity, ensures +Party supremacy, and files fanaticism to a sharp cutting edge. + +Modern-day communism, in all its many ramifications, simply cannot +be understood without a knowledge of communist discipline: how it is +engendered, how it operates, how it tears out man’s soul and makes him a +tool of the Party. The very core of communism is discipline. Without it +communism would lose much of its momentum, terror, and striking power. + +The Party’s constitution provides for disciplinary action. An elaborate +“appeals” framework is provided whereby a series of “courts” is available +to hear “charges,” with the National Convention being the “court” of +final resort. Generally speaking, disciplinary problems are handled, on +all levels of the Party, by Review and Control Commissions (often called +Security Commissions). They serve as the “courts” to discipline any +member who might be hostile to the Party. + +These “courts” must not be confused with courts as we know them in the +American judicial system. Run by hardened, old-time comrades, they are +weapons of Party discipline. “Sentences” are meted out on the basis +of expediency, not justice. Rules of evidence, the fair balancing of +opinions, and the seeking of truth play no role. Communist discipline is +a repugnant totalitarianism. + +Here is the account of one victim of communist discipline. John Lautner +had been a member of the Communist Party for more than twenty years. +He had risen through the ranks until he was a member of the National +Review Commission of the Communist Party; he headed the New York Review +Commission, was security officer for the Party headquarters building, +then at 35 East 12th Street, New York City. He considered himself a +dedicated member of the Party. + +One day in January, 1950, he was told to proceed to Cleveland, Ohio, to +help in perfecting plans for the communist underground in Ohio. Upon +arrival he was taken ostensibly to a Party meeting in the basement of a +residence. There he was ordered to remove his clothes and for a period +of several hours was subjected to the basest of indignities. He was told +that he would not leave alive as six other communists, who Lautner said +had “butcher knives,” “revolvers,” “rubber hoses,” and a “recording +machine,” started questioning him about his knowledge of the underground, +his army record, his relationship with Hungarian defectees, and his +reports to federal agencies. He was accused of being an enemy agent, a +spy, of hiring unreliable people to work in the Communist Party defense +office, and protecting government “spies” in the Party. Actually, Lautner +was innocent of these charges, and the Party’s injustice inured to the +government’s benefit. Finally Lautner had the presence of mind to state +that he had left at his hotel the name of one of the communist officials +conducting the star-chamber proceedings. He was released and returned to +New York, where he read in the _Daily Worker_ that he had been expelled +from the Party as an enemy agent. + +Lautner even filed an appeal of this expulsion order but never received +an answer. Several months later he came to the FBI with his story for the +first time and since has testified in several legal proceedings. Such is +the way communist “justice” is dispensed in the United States. + +In this connection we must distinguish between the discipline that +communism can exact when it is in state control, as in Russia, Hungary, +and China, and when it is not. Communists in the United States cannot +exact the death penalty; they cannot operate slave labor camps; they +cannot deport families to isolated areas. Yet the disciplinary actions +of the Communist Party, USA, as we shall see in the “purge” of Earl +Browder in 1945, show unmistakably that communists in this country +think and would like to act in disciplinary matters precisely as do +communists behind the Iron Curtain. Moreover, the stronger the Party in +this country, the more able it has been to enforce its discipline. Every +Party member should realize that, by working to strengthen the Communist +Party, he is thereby giving the Party greater power to discipline him in +the future. Today, at most he can be expelled and vilified, unless he is +subjected to the treatment given John Lautner. We can readily conjecture, +however, recalling the purge trials under Stalin, what could happen here +if communism ever controlled our government. + +Communist discipline is a part of the everyday life of the Party. It is +not something that can be developed overnight or learned exclusively from +a book. It comes gradually from attending schools, reading, and doing +Party work. A “conscience of responsibility,” as one old-time member +explained it, is created; a feeling that, whatever your personal desires +and responsibilities, _the Party’s orders come first_; that every task is +surrounded by a Party “halo of sanctity,” thereby becoming an emergency +urgently demanding instant handling; that a “guilty” feeling arises if +the member relaxes for a moment or doesn’t do the job assigned by the +Party “boss.” + +In the communist system, discipline means _conscious_ and _voluntary_ +submission to the will of the Party. To obey Party instructions is +regarded as a high ethical duty, to be undertaken joyously and willingly +as an honor and privilege, never as bondage. Not to obey is unthinkable +and a matter of personal shame and Party irresponsibility. This is the +terrifying danger of communist discipline—that in the name of freedom, by +appealing to the most noble qualities in man, the human being is pushed +into deepest tyranny. + +Communist “courts” seek out those who do not “knuckle under” to communist +discipline. If a mistake is made from bad judgment, a lapse of memory, +or lack of knowledge, that is one thing. This can be corrected by more +“education.” But if the member persists in error, that is, doesn’t follow +undeviatingly the Party line, he must be “flayed without mercy.” “... an +organization of real revolutionaries,” says Lenin, “will stop at nothing +to rid itself of an undesirable member.” + +Members may be disciplined for many reasons. One of the most serious is +being a _deviationist_, that is, differing from the Party line. This +charge has led to wholesale purges in the past, including the ousting of +such leaders as Lovestone, Gitlow, Browder, and literally hundreds of +lesser members. + +The Party claims to be an “advanced” element, teaching the noncommunist +masses the “glories” of socialism. As leaders, communists must be “in +front” of the less informed yet not too far ahead to be out of sight. +Just where to be at any given time is decided by the Party inner clique. +Anyone disagreeing is a deviationist, guilty of either _left-wing +sectarianism_ or _right-wing opportunism_. + +Some individuals, the communists say, may stray too far to the left. They +want the Party to be more militant, to hurry up the revolution. They rush +on ahead, forgetting to guide the noncommunists. That’s wrong, says the +Party. Such an attitude would isolate the Party, make it an ineffectual +sect. These individuals are guilty of left-wing sectarianism. They must +turn around and come back. + +On the other hand, many members lag behind the correct position. They +disregard the Party’s role as an “advanced teacher” and allow it to work +too closely with capitalism. They are right-wing opportunists, equally as +guilty as left-wing sectarians. They had better rid themselves of this +“capitalist complex” and catch up. + +These terms sound massive. To communists, however, they are everyday +expressions. Time after time in Party meetings the charge will be +heard, “He’s an opportunist,” or, “He’s a left-wing sectarian.” To the +communists that’s like calling a man a thief or coward. + +You can well imagine how these “errors” are corrected. Disciplinary +scythes can cut down anyone disliked by the leadership. If you want +to get rid of a comrade, accuse him of left-wing sectarianism or +right-wing opportunism. He’ll probably then be hauled into Party “court.” +Disciplinary vogues sweep the Party: for a while, left-wing sectarianism +becomes popular, then right-wing opportunism. After Browder’s removal in +1945 as a right-wing opportunist (also called _revisionist_), the style +was to criticize opportunism. Since the Geneva Conference of 1955 the +fashion has been to attack left-wing sectarianism. + +Another serious error is _chauvinism_, applied to a member who supposedly +thinks himself superior to others. + +Any member can bring charges, no matter how silly, trivial, and stupid. +That’s a communist technique: always keep members in fear. Never must a +comrade become secure, complacent, or unconcerned. He must constantly +be worrying about “what’s coming next.” This prevents the entrenchment +of Party bureaucrats and the formation of cliques; it makes discipline +easier to impose. + +Perhaps, in his Party work or in his personal affairs, a member has +given more attention to Mr. A than to Mr. B. If Mr. B’s feelings have +been hurt, he may bring formal charges. In one instance, a group of +Party comrades made plans to hold a picnic, then invited two additional +comrades. The two declined, saying that by being asked at the last +minute they had been slighted. Result: they planned to bring charges of +chauvinism. + +There are different types of chauvinism. _White chauvinism_, for example, +means that a white comrade, through word or deed, has “slighted” or +shown that he feels himself better than a Negro comrade. If the reverse +is true—that a Negro member considers himself superior to a white +comrade—this leads to the error of _inverted white chauvinism_ or +_Negro nationalism_. Then there is _male chauvinism_, also called _male +supremacism_, when men comrades “look down on” the position of women. In +one instance a man was accused of disapproving of his wife’s smoking. +He was a male supremacist. If a woman thinks she is superior to a man, +that’s _commandism_. + +Still another cause for disciplinary action is the charge of being an +_informer_. Ever since 1949, when FBI informants testified at the first +New York Smith Act trial, communists have been terrified of informers. +They go all-out to catch “spies.” Member after member, completely +innocent of the Party’s charges, has been expelled. “If you have to kick +ten guys out to get the right one,” a comrade explained, “that’s the way +to do it.” In one instance Party officials without any authority searched +the home of a member “under suspicion.” In another instance an anonymous +letter was received at national headquarters charging, among other +things, that a high Party official was “a big bag of wind.” The Party +instantly collected typewriting samples, hoping to catch the culprit. + +The Party, as part of its disciplinary program, encourages what is called +self-criticism. The communists point to this technique as proof of the +democratic nature of their Party. Actually, however, self-criticism plays +into the hands of the ruling clique, enabling it to detect discontent +and criticism of its leadership. It becomes an effective disciplinary +technique to keep the membership in submission. + +Members are encouraged to criticize themselves and others. A +well-established Party admonition is: “Test your work against +Marxist-Leninist principles. Is anything wrong? Why did the registration +program fall short? Are the officers of the club doing their duties +properly? Why weren’t more pamphlets sold?” The membership is expected +to bewail its errors, to say, “We were wrong. Have mercy on us. We will +do better.” They prostrate themselves before Party bosses. For those who +don’t “confess,” there are others to point out their errors. What else +could be asked? + +When a comrade confesses, the communist custom is for other members to +heap abuse on him, often in the most sarcastic and sneering manner. +“You’re a deviationist.” “You’re a chauvinist!” The idea is to drive the +member to the lowest depths of humiliation. + +When Earl Browder was deposed in 1945, a national officer suggested that +he be given a job scrubbing floors at national headquarters. Browder +later told the Yonkers, New York, communist club, “If there had been any +evidence that there existed a real need for my services in this capacity, +I would gladly have given them.” + +Members often work themselves into a state of frenzy, tearing apart their +best friends. Sometimes self-criticism becomes contagious, with Party +sections and committees confessing en masse. + +Tongues are sharp, but comrades soon learn whom to criticize. To attack +a fellow comrade, especially one you don’t like, is the thing to do. In +attacking the club chairman the comrade had better take things a little +slowly. If he is a friend of the chairman’s superior and thinks he can +get the chairman’s job, then it’s proper. If not, he should be content +with self-criticism. Good Party manners would say “no” to disparaging a +state or national leader, unless one was assigned as a “hatchet man” for +another top official. Communist criticism flows more safely downward than +upward. + +Criticism is encouraged—but it must be of the right kind. An organizer +isn’t doing his job. To criticize him is proper; that’s _constructive +criticism_, designed to make the Party stronger. “But this criticism,” +one high official said, “must never depart from the line of the Party....” + +That’s the crux: Criticism must be limited to how the Party line can best +be advanced. Anything else is _destructive criticism_. It’s like a house +full of furniture. A comrade is permitted to discuss how the furniture +can be arranged, whether the blue chair should be in the front room or +the bedroom. But as soon as he questions the size of the house, whether +a new room should be added, or the entire house destroyed and rebuilt, +well, that’s too much. The Party line must not be questioned. + +Some members learn the hard way. They push criticism too far and are +quickly put in place. + +John was highly regarded as a club chairman. He was aggressive and a hard +worker. Promotion was his reward. He was sent by the National Committee +to another city as a section organizer. Soon things began to hum. He +reorganized some clubs. He shifted other Party activities. He was putting +his ideas to work. + +Then he went one step too far. He suggested that the state organization, +headed by his superior, could be improved. John should have known better. +An organizer can work out new schemes to sell the _Daily Worker_, +to recruit members, and to reshuffle clubs; in fact, that is Party +initiative. But he doesn’t criticize state chairmen and, as John did in +this instance, threaten to take up the matter directly with national +headquarters. + +John quickly became the fellow who “went up fast, down faster.” +State headquarters, in a special report, severely criticized him and +recommended additional Party training. The result: He was recalled and +assigned to an insignificant desk job. He had to learn his lesson. + +Destructive criticism may lead to _factionalism_, which, in Party eyes, +is open rebellion. A member holds a critical opinion. Others agree and +soon a faction, or group hostile to the Party line, is formed. Every +resource of the Party is mobilized to destroy it. + +For a show of democracy, the Party’s constitution says: + + Every officer and member shall have the right to express a + dissenting opinion on any matter of Party policy with respect + to which a decision has been made by majority vote of the + appropriate Party committee or convention, _provided that such + dissenting officer or member does not engage in factional or + other activity which hinders or impedes the execution of such + policy_. [Emphasis supplied.] + +In other words, in practice any criticism that “hinders” the Party line +is called factionalism and is forbidden. + +Often, factionalism becomes so pronounced that an entire group is +expelled. The Communist Party, with its unreasonable discipline and +rigid structure, is peculiarly susceptible to factionalism. There are in +America today a number of Marxist factions (called _splinters_), each +small in number and with varying degrees of hostility to the Communist +Party. + +Noncommunists will have difficulty in understanding the utter inhumanity +of communist discipline. It is a discipline that pervades every facet of +life, drives wedges between husband and wife, and separates families. The +best friends today, because of a Party action, may become the bitterest +enemies tomorrow. + +A Party member heard that her husband, a high-ranking functionary, had +just been expelled. The shock was terrific. + +He claimed that he was innocent. “I didn’t do anything,” he stated. And +he was right. The charges were completely false. But she refused to +believe. She double-checked with Party headquarters. They said he was +guilty. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her eyes +grew bitter and her mouth curled with scorn. Finally her decision was +made. + +“Get out of this house,” she ordered. “I don’t want you around. You’re a +traitor. Now, OUT!” + +Without hesitation she accepted the Party’s version, refusing to believe +her own husband. The wedge of Party discipline had conquered. The husband +was driven away from his own home and his own child. Loyalty to the Party +supersedes all emotions of love and mercy and justice. + +In California the parents of a young lady were Party members. Both had +held high offices in their section. They objected to their daughter’s +staying out with another Party member until four and five o’clock in +the morning, and claimed it was injuring her health and her progress in +school. The daughter’s boy friend complained to a Party functionary that +he was being discriminated against because he was a Negro. The girl’s +mother, a former section chairman, defended her action. The daughter +then took the floor and charged her parents with chauvinism. They were +expelled and the daughter then married the complainant. + +The Party’s constitution provides a number of specific penalties of +increasing severity, including expulsion. + +The mildest Party penalty is _reprimand_, usually designed to assist +Party members in correcting their mistakes. This may take the form of +_private censure_, such as, “You had better be on time in the future,” +or, “Your work wasn’t well organized.” Somewhat more severe is _public +censure_, whereby through written notice or public announcement a comrade +is reprimanded. In this way others know of the Party’s disapproval. + +Then there is _probation_. This may involve a shift from one type of work +to another or an assignment to special tasks. If the offender is a paid +Party official, he may be demoted (for example, from a state office to +a minor position) or transferred to another city. Next is _suspension_, +usually for a specific length of time. This amounts to a temporary relief +of assignments. The most severe penalty, next to expulsion, is _removal +from office_. In such instances the comrade may be stripped of all Party +assignments and demoted to being a mere rank-and-filer. This is a hard +jolt, especially with the whole Party watching. These acts are object +lessons to the membership. “Comrade, be careful. Don’t you do the same.” +Fear plays an important role in communist discipline. + +The most drastic penalty, of course, is _expulsion_, and thousands of +case examples, even of the highest leaders, form mute evidence. + +Once the communists turn on a comrade, the treatment is complete. For +example: + +Earl Browder, onetime General Secretary, was expelled in February, 1946, +for + + ... developing factional activity and for betraying the + principles of Marxism-Leninism and deserting to the side of the + class enemy—American monopoly capital. + +Sam Donchin, Associate Editor, _Daily Worker_, until shifted to +leadership position on the Party’s Education Commission, was also +expelled. The _Daily Worker_ on March 12, 1951, in announcing his +expulsion, said, “Donchin was expelled for factionalism, anti-Party +activities, hostility to the line of the Party and to the Party +leadership, and white chauvinism.” + +The announcement continued: “Donchin tried to cover up his factionalism +in the name of criticism and self-criticism in the Party. He +demagogically tried to identify criticism and self-criticism in the ranks +of the Party with a right to carry on factional conduct in the Party.” + +Once a former member breaks with the Party and testifies or makes a +public statement, he can expect a merciless campaign of vilification. On +April 10, 1952, the well-known stage and screen director, Elia Kazan, +appeared before the House Committee on Un-American Activities and +testified that he had been in the Party for a year and a half in the +1930’s and quit because of the regimentation and thought control that had +been directed at him. Two days later he took a paid advertisement in the +New York _Times_ explaining his reasons. _Daily Worker_ writer Samuel +Sillen on April 17, 1952, gave Mr. Kazan the full treatment with such +vitriolic words as: + + We have seen a lot of belly-crawling in this time of the toad, + but nothing has quite equaled last week’s command-performance + by Hollywood director Elia Kazan.... Not even in Hitler days + did renegade intellectuals sink so low.... Kazan is not content + with being a toad. He must also be a philosopher of toadyism. + +Communist discipline, however, is not blind or without a deceitful +purpose. Individuals should not be expelled impulsively but should be +shown the error of their ways. Only when he is deemed “unimprovable” is +a member to be ousted. For this reason offenders are often compelled to +perform special “disciplinary chores” to “earn their way back,” to show +through hard work, devotion, and acknowledging the supremacy of the Party +that they should be readmitted to favor. In a Northern city, for example, +an official in disfavor was placed in charge of arranging a mass meeting. +He had to “prove” himself by doing the most menial tasks—running errands, +selling tickets, recruiting ushers—he who used to be a keynoter himself. +In most instances the more menial the task, the better. In Party eyes, a +member who has gone through this self-abasement becomes a better comrade +because of it. All thought of resistance is pounded out and he becomes +a viable Party tool. He can be reprimanded, criticized, treated in a +brutally unfair manner, yet he’ll keep on working. Lash him, and he’ll +clench his teeth tighter. That’s the true revolutionary, in communist +eyes. + +The key is always acknowledging the supremacy of the Party. Hence, one of +the fastest ways “back” is to acknowledge it quickly and completely. + +In a Midwestern section an old-time organizer was accused of conduct +detrimental to the Party. In a report read at an executive committee +meeting he admitted his error. His conduct had been atrocious. Everything +charged was true. He should have known better. He was ready to accept +punishment. He even suggested his own removal as organizer. This attitude +was exactly what the Party wanted. The state office did not relieve the +organizer, though cautioning him that if his conduct were repeated, more +severe action would be taken. The result: public (and mild) reprimand, +not suspension or removal from office. + +This explains why, in some instances, severe errors receive minor +penalties, whereas small mistakes result in expulsion. The test is +often not what a member did wrong but his attitude after the error +was committed. If the member is willing to admit his mistake, real or +fictitious, accept punishment gladly, and still maintain absolute faith +in the leadership, he will probably soon be restored to favor. If he +tries, however, to defend himself in the light of the evidence, he must +be dealt with harshly. On one occasion a member involved in domestic +difficulties replied “none of your business” to an inquiry by the +Party. He wasn’t long in good standing. In Party language, he showed no +“political capabilities,” meaning he was not amenable to discipline. + +The Communist Party has a systematic campaign of creating hatred against +the expelled member. It is not enough just to expel him; he must be +vilified, blackened, and made to appear the scum of the earth. + +These individuals become “spies,” “stool pigeons,” “rats,” “Trotskyites,” +“renegades,” and “degenerates.” To communists, ordinary curse words have +no meaning. They have a vocabulary all their own. Hence, “opportunist,” +“deviationist,” and “anti-Party” are their choicest terms of defamation, +of characterizing a person as being the meanest, foulest, most +black-hearted derelict imaginable. + +The higher in Party leadership the ousted member has risen, the greater +must be the efforts to defame him. For example, Robert Wood, the Party’s +onetime Eastern railroad organizer, was expelled with an explosive +statement in the _Daily Worker_ on March 23, 1951, which said: + + ... various violations of Party discipline, for panic in the + face of the fire of the class enemy, for acts endangering the + Party, for issuing instructions in the name of the Party which + were unauthorized and false, for acts of white chauvinism, and + for conduct unbecoming and inconsistent with his post of Party + leadership. + +From the campaign of vilification there arises a fantastically bitter +element of communist discipline and hatred. Every man, woman, and child +in the membership must be mobilized against the accused. One Party +manual, written by a top leader, recommended: + + 1. Photograph the spy, and print his picture in the _Daily + Worker_ and in leaflets and stickers.... + + 2. Organize systematic agitation among the workers where the + spy was discovered. + + 3. Mobilize the children and women in the block in the part of + town where the stool pigeon lives to make his life miserable; + let them picket the store where his wife purchases groceries + and other necessities; let the children in the street shout + after him or after any member of his family that they are + spies, rats, stool pigeons. + + 4. Chalk his home with the slogan: “So-and-So who lives here + is a spy.” Let the children boycott his children or child; + organize the children not to talk to his children, etc. + +This represents the utter depths of depravity, hate, and inhuman venom +to which the Party will descend in order to wreak vengeance on an +expelled member. + +An expellee must have no association with any member of the Party—even +though that member be his own father, mother, wife, or husband. +“Associating with the enemy” is the usual charge. This means the +splitting of families, the tearing apart of friends. In one instance +a woman member was expelled. Her husband was instructed to leave her +and the children. When he refused, he was expelled. Another member who +remained friendly was also ousted. It becomes a dizzy merry-go-round of +personal spleen. + +Once a communist is expelled and there is a likelihood that he might +become a government witness, then the communists go to work to +compile such information as is available to discourage the witness +from testifying for fear of exposure or of being discredited in +cross-examination by a communist lawyer. In one case a woman rose to +a prominent position in the Party. When she later left the Party, the +communists reportedly compiled a large file of her early indiscretions +and weaknesses. Consequently, she has always been most reluctant to +testify. + +Communist discipline has another facet often difficult for noncommunists +to understand. In some instances penalties, expulsions, and exposure +are not enough; the culprit must pay with his life. Nothing less is +satisfactory. The world has witnessed, both in Russia and in the +satellites, highly publicized “purge” trials. + +The “crime” was not opposition to the Party, lack of loyalty, or +unwillingness to sacrifice everything for communism. Rather, these +victims were renowned for their devotion, often having spent their entire +lives in the movement. Suddenly, within days, their whole position was +overturned. They were accused of trying to destroy the very thing they +had labored so long to create. How does this make sense? + +Communism is cannibalistic. Its servants are periodically offered as +sacrifices on the communist altar. If something goes wrong, the trouble +lies, in communist eyes, not in the policy decreed on high but in its +human instruments. Whenever the “infallible science” of Marxism-Leninism +has been incorrectly applied, disciplinary action must follow. + +The purge is characteristic of the communist movement everywhere. Lenin +was a firm advocate of purges and urged: “If we really succeed ... in +purging our Party from top to bottom, ‘without respect for persons,’ the +gains for the revolution will really be enormous.” + +William Z. Foster, then Chairman of the Communist Party in the United +States, said: + + Communist parties, in line with Lenin’s teachings, also + constantly strengthen the fiber of their organization by + cleansing their ranks of elements that have become confused, + corrupted, worn-out, or defeated in the hard and complex + struggle to build the forces of socialism in the face of a + still powerful and militant capitalism. + +A stocky, mustached man stood before the convention of the Communist +Political Association in 1945. A few days earlier he had been the +undisputed leader of communists in the United States. He was now a +“renegade,” an “enemy” of the foulest proportions! Earl Browder was +fighting for his Party life. + +Browder’s crime was not disloyalty to the Party but obedience to a policy +that, in his opinion, was in the best interests of communism. Moscow +thought otherwise. Actually, Browder was a pawn of communist tactics and +had to pay the penalty. + +He was stripped of Party authority, accused of every conceivable Party +crime—by the very subordinates who had been his most loyal supporters. He +was later expelled ignominiously, becoming a target of vilification for +the entire membership. + +Here was a “purge trial” grimly reminiscent, except for bodily +punishment, of the infamous purges under Stalin. We need not wonder what +Browder’s fate might have been if communism had possessed the power of +the state. + +In our review of life in the Party we have seen how all communist +processes are pointed to molding the revolutionary. He is the man who +must carry out communist programs such as mass agitation, fronts, and +infiltration, to which we now turn. If anywhere he falters, from the +Party’s point of view, the communist drive for mastery is weakened. + +The ousted member in most instances frees himself from the communist +thought-control machine. In him lies hope for regeneration. The deepest +tragedy lies in the conscious and voluntary submission, day after day, of +thousands of Party members. These fanatical devotees, giving their all +for the Party, represent a real danger to our way of life. + + + + +_Part V_ + +THE COMMUNIST TROJAN HORSE IN ACTION + + + + +14. + +_Communist Strategy and Tactics_ + + +In preceding chapters I have briefly outlined the history and internal +structure of the Communist Party, USA. Now we must consider the Party’s +attack against noncommunist society in the United States. + +The Communist Party, USA, is a weapon of attack, not only for the day +of revolution but for _now_. To Party leaders each day is a day of +preparation and dress rehearsal for the day when they hope to come to +power. Noncommunist ranks must be infiltrated, penetrated, and subverted. +The success of the communist mission depends on capturing the enemy’s +stronghold from within. + +To this end the Party employs a variety of _mass-agitation_ techniques. +The communist is in the market places of America: in organizations, on +street corners, even at your front door. He is trying to influence and +control your thoughts. Mass agitation weakens the noncommunist enemy and +builds Party structure. + +Communists conceive of their attack against capitalist society in terms +of warfare. They see the Party as the “vanguard,” leading the proletariat +in battle against the bourgeoisie. Periods of offense and defense, +attacks and retreats, skirmishes, even pitched battles and casualties are +demanded. They realize that victory can be achieved only by force and +violence. + +This warlike character of communist policy is reflected in Party +expressions such as “strongholds of reaction,” “mobilizing the masses,” +“advanced detachments of the proletariat,” “storming the fortress of +capitalism,” “seizing the initiative.” Basic battle plans are conceived +in terms of _strategy_ and _tactics_. + +The ultimate aim of the Communist Party is the establishment of a Soviet +America. For more than a generation, never for a moment have American +communists forgotten their allegiance to the Soviet Union. This is the +ultimate strategy of the Communist Party, USA. + +Party leaders realize, however, that they are a minority. They simply +cannot march straight to victory. For that reason the approach (tactics) +must be varied, flexible, and constantly subject to change. + +To communists, strategy means the determining and carrying out of +long-range goals (such as winning a war), whereas tactics are the working +out of strategy on a day-to-day basis (winning particular battles +and engagements). “Tactics,” Stalin said, “are a part of strategy, +subordinate and subservient to it.” + +To achieve the long-range goal, retreats and maneuvers sometimes are +necessary. Is it not like climbing an unexplored mountain? asks Lenin. +How can we “renounce beforehand the idea that at times we might have to +go in zigzags, sometimes retracing our steps, sometimes abandoning the +course once selected and trying various others?” + +That explains the communist phrase, “strategic retreat.” It means: Don’t +be afraid to take two steps backward today if it will help to achieve +three steps forward tomorrow. + +Keep the goal always in mind, teach the communists; remember that the +enemy is superior in numbers, better armed, more experienced. Moreover, +communists must be willing to endure hardships. Lenin urged: “... if +you are not inclined to crawl in the mud on your belly, you are not +a revolutionary but a chatterbox....” Fight hard and be disciplined, +“carefully, attentively and skilfully taking advantage of every, even the +smallest ‘fissure’ among the enemies....” Seize “every, even the smallest +opportunity of gaining a mass ally, even though this ally be temporary, +vacillating, unstable, unreliable and conditional.” And “Those who do +not understand this fail to understand even a grain of Marxism....” + +Use anything to advance the ultimate goal: offensive and defensive +tactics, legal and illegal, long- and short-range policies. All are part +of the over-all battle plan.. + +Don’t allow the Party to advance too rapidly. Stop, consolidate, maintain +contact with the masses. “... an advance _without consolidating_ the +positions already captured is an advance doomed to failure.” Likewise, +never make a permanent truce with the enemy. Don’t be trapped by +his lures, bribes, and promises. Cooperation or collaboration with +noncommunists must never be more than a “tactic.” It must have as its +actual long-range goal the weakening and discrediting of democracy and +its eventual destruction. The task of the revolutionary leader is to +gauge the comparative strength of the proletariat and the bourgeoisie and +decide what particular tactics are then most likely to promote revolution. + +Communists employ various tactics in devising methods to inject +themselves into various phases of American life. Their obligation to +defend the interests of the Soviet Union dictates their tactics in +seeking to obstruct and undermine public confidence in our foreign +policy. Thus, seizing upon the inherent desire of all Americans to reduce +taxes, the _Daily Worker_ editorializes that foreign aid should be +curtailed and billions should not be taken “out of our pockets for a new +phony ‘emergency’.... The huge seventy-billion a year ‘defense’ budget is +rushing America to inflation, and economic crisis.” Actually, communists +would like to develop an economic crisis. + +Then they urge the development of a peacetime economy by advocating +trade between the United States and Russia because Russia would benefit. +_Political Affairs_ thus urges, “The only remaining untapped market for +U.S. goods is the Soviet Union, China and the Peoples’ Democracies, in +which the threat of crises of overproduction has been removed forever....” + +In seeking to curry favor with labor, communists employ tactics of +calling for immediate demands such as higher wages, a shorter work week, +increased vacations, and an abolition of the high cost of living. To +that end a communist labor tactician calls for putting “... ideological +differences aside in order to work together in behalf of a _single +immediate objective_ or a _number of immediate objectives_ ... the unions +must work together....” + +The immediate demand tactics are also employed by the communists to find +favor with Negroes by urging the abolition of “Jim Crow Laws,” “full +representation,” and “the fight for Negro rights.” The controversy on +integration has given the communists a field day. + +They also have a program “... to stimulate broad united-front actions in +the rural communities in defense of the economic interests of the farming +masses”; “to weld youth unity”; and to “work still harder” for mothers. + +A primary tactic of the Communist Party is to preserve the legal status +of the Party. Thus, any organization which has the duty to investigate or +expose communist activity is singled out for attack. For years the Party +has campaigned against the House Committee on Un-American Activities, +the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and the Senate Investigating +Committee. The Department of Justice and the FBI have not been spared, +and we have come to judge our effectiveness by the intensity of communist +attacks. + +The Red Fascists have long followed the practice of making full use +of democratic liberties: elections, lawful agitation and propaganda, +and free speech, press, and assembly. Their basic premise: Reap every +advantage possible. However, if it will help, don’t hesitate to use +illegal methods, such as underground operations, terrorism, espionage, +sabotage, lying, cheating. “We have never rejected terror on principle, +nor can we do so. Terror is a form of military operation that may be +usefully applied....” wrote Lenin. Morality is strictly a bourgeois +device. To the communists everything that promotes the revolution is +moral, legal, and beautiful. + +Many people are confused by the Party’s abrupt twists and turns, such +as denouncing the United States as an “imperialist” nation from 1939 +to 1941, then overnight, after Russia’s entrance into the war, hailing +America as a great ally. Communists often look like frightened rabbits +chasing back and forth. But in reality these “changes in the Party line” +are merely shifting tactics, all designed to promote the ultimate goal of +world revolution. They are not changes in heart. + +The Communist Party, USA, has been and is engaged in an all-out war +against American freedom. Its tactics of confusion, retreat, advance, +infiltration, and hypocrisy are in full play. The attack is both legal +and illegal, offensive and defensive, open and concealed. + +Above the surface a gigantic propaganda and agitation campaign is in +progress, a campaign that depends for success upon the support of +noncommunists. Basic communist strategy dictates that noncommunist hands, +knowingly or unknowingly, under communist guidance, must further the +influence of the communist world. + +To understand communist strategy and tactics, as designed to destroy +American democracy, we must first observe _above-ground_ communist +operations: mass-agitation campaigns, infiltration techniques, and Party +fronts; then in Part VI we will consider the _underground_ organization. + + + + +15. + +_Mass Agitation_ + + +As stated in Chapter 10, the Party’s attack is geared to the wide variety +of American life. Communism has something to sell to everybody. And, +following this principle, it is the function of mass agitation to exploit +all the grievances, hopes, aspirations, prejudices, fears, and ideals +of all the special groups that make up our society, social, religious, +economic, racial, political. Stir them up. Set one against the other. +Divide and conquer. That’s the way to soften up a democracy. + +Here is the advice of a top leader giving instruction on how to spread +the Party’s influence: + +Study your friends. See what they spontaneously talk about. What problems +interest them? + + —is he an unemployed worker, skilled in his craft but without + work?; + + —a storekeeper? Maybe business isn’t so good; + + —a trade-union man or a dairy farmer? What are their problems?; + + —a young man just out of school? Looking for a job?; + + —a member of a minority group?; + + —a young mother worrying about sending her child to + kindergarten? + +“... unless each one of us grasps the meaning of this individual approach +to every one of our friends and acquaintances, we are in danger” of being +ineffective. + +Agitation must be carried on in specialized fields: among women, among +youth, among veterans, among racial and nationality groups, farmers, +trade unions. That’s the responsibility of the Party commissions. + +Consider youth, a prime target of communist attack. Communists start out +with this major premise: American imperialism aims to create a corrupt, +completely militarized youth—a “gagged,” “scared” generation. This theme +is expounded by word of mouth, in forums, in literature, in cartoons, +hoping to exploit the lofty dreams of youth. + +The approach always has two sides: (1) _the deceptive line designed for +public consumption_, and (2) _the real Party line designed to advance +communism_. Consider this _deceptive line_ for youth: + + 1. Increase trade with all countries, including the communist + bloc, to provide “hundreds of thousands of new jobs for young + people.” + + 2. Outlaw all mass destruction weapons (atomic bomb). + + 3. Promote universal disarmament and peace. + + 4. Reduce military expenditures and repeal the draft. + + 5. Repeal all “repressive legislation” and “restore the Bill of + Rights.” + + 6. “Restore full academic freedom for students and faculties.” + + 7. Promote world-wide “youth friendship for peace and + democracy,” drop all bars to the travel of youth. + + 8. Appropriate more money for schools, community centers, etc. + +That is the line designed for public consumption. Sounds acceptable, +doesn’t it? But the communists are not genuinely interested in improving +the status of American youth. + +For window-dressing, they always support items desired by most of the +people: lower taxes, higher wages, better housing, old-age security, +higher farm income. These are thoroughly legitimate interests. To support +these aims, and many others, is not to be a communist. The Party is +simply attempting to exploit such interests for its own selfish aims They +become Party “talking points.” + +Behind this front, as in the call for world-wide youth friendship, more +education, academic freedom, and so on, lurks the ulterior motive, the +real Party line. The attractive “come along” points are merely bait. Look +closely to see how the adoption of these demands, _as conceived by the +Party_, would distort their true meanings and aid the communist cause: + +“_Restore the Bill of Rights_,” in communist language, means eliminating +of legal opposition to communism, stopping all prosecution of communists, +and granting amnesty to those presently in jail. “_Repeal the draft law_” +and “_peace_” mean curtailing our national defense effort and allowing +Russia to become militarily stronger than the United States. “_Increase +trade with the Soviet Bloc_” means selling materials that could be used +by the communist nations for armaments. “_Restore academic freedom_” +means to communists that we should permit the official teaching of +communist doctrine in all schools and that we should allow communists +to infiltrate teaching staffs. If the communists had their way, America +would be rendered helpless to protect herself. Incidentally, notice the +communist use of the word “restore,” indicating that freedom is already +gone and that the Party stands for its return. + +Now substitute “veterans” for “youth.” The approach is the same: +Increased trade with all countries, including the communist bloc, would +mean thousands of new jobs for _veterans_. “Restore” academic freedom +so _veterans_ can think as they want. Promote world-wide _veteran_ +friendship. Drop all bars to the travel of _veterans_. Also, it is good +propaganda policy to add a few “come along” points appealing specifically +to veterans. The technique continues: substitute “women,” “trade union +members,” “nationality groups,” etc. + +The propaganda platform contains a combination of immediate “come along” +demands, designed for deceptive and specialized appeal, and basic policy +aimed to advance the communist cause. + +Thus the Party, through its specialized and immediate demands, is able to +gain entree into various groups and create favorable working conditions +for future revolutionary action. Very quickly, for example: + + —a veterans’ meeting endorses “peace.” + + —a nationality festival passes a resolution for “peace.” + + —a youth affair favors “peace.” + + —a neighborhood group comes out for “peace.” + + —a women’s rally fights for “peace.” + +Whatever its composition, the group, once under communist control, is +switched to the Party line. The feigned interest in legitimate demands is +merely a trap. + +Even holidays are used to enhance the Party’s aims. For example, the +_Daily Worker_ once headlined a story “Mother’s Day to Be Marked by Peace +Tables....” Postcards should be distributed on Mother’s Day, the story +continued, “declaring the deepest need of all American mothers to be a +ban on A- and H-bombs....” + +Also planned, according to the story, were special Mother’s Day leaflets +and placards as well as balloons for the children reading “World-Wide Ban +of A- and H-bombs.” + +Many people sincerely believe, for many reasons, that these bombs should +be banned. However, to communists, the true meaning of peace and banning +the A- and H-bombs is weakening the United States and advancing Russian +aggressive aims. + +And so it goes. A discussion may start about the low price of oats, +better working conditions on the second shift, equal pay for women, +the death rate among Eskimos, but it will end with the endorsement of +“peace”; “amnesty for the Smith Act victims”; “repeal of the Internal +Security Act of 1950 and the McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality +Act.” + +Scattered, variegated, and inarticulate interests, under Party guidance, +are brought into a common denominator: support for the Party line. + +The Party line, in fact, is the sum total of all Party demands at any +given time. You must learn to see it as a whole. Some demands are always +present and seem innocent enough, such as those for higher wages, lower +taxes, and better housing. But, remember, communists don’t really care +about genuine social reforms. These immediate demands are strictly for +agitational purposes. They serve to arouse people and to cause tension. +William Z. Foster says very candidly: “Our Party is a revolutionary +Party. It aims not simply to ease conditions a bit under capitalism for +the workers but to abolish capitalism altogether.” + +If ever achieved, these demands will be restated in more extreme form. + +Other demands in the Party line are short-term; that is, they may quickly +change, depending on the current national and international situation. +Consider the Party’s stand that Formosa should be returned to China +proper. Suppose the present communist regime in China were overthrown and +a government hostile to Soviet Russia gained power. This demand would be +quickly abandoned. On the other hand, certain demands never change, such +as support of the Soviet Union. + +The attack is primarily agitational. Propaganda, although valuable, is +a long-range softener, to be handled chiefly on an intellectual level +by the educational department; agitation is immediate, inflammatory, +conducive to acute discontent, the specialty of the field organizer. + +Lenin’s distinction is decisive. A propagandist, he says, to explain +unemployment must talk about the capitalist nature of the crisis, the +need for building a socialist society, etc. “‘Many ideas’” must be +expounded, “so many indeed that they will be understood as a whole only +by a (comparatively) few persons.” + +But the agitator, on the other hand, selects one well-known aspect of +the problem, such as “the death from starvation of the family of an +unemployed worker.” He will concentrate on imparting a single idea to +the masses: why this family died. Or, in Lenin’s words, he will show +“the senseless contradiction between the increase of wealth and increase +of poverty.” Evoke discontent and revolt _now_. “Leave a more complete +explanation ... to the propagandist.” Here is an example of how agitation +works: + +The communists publish a story: John Doe has been arrested, the charge +is murder. Of course it is a tragic event. Crime always brings sorrow. +It reflects maladjustment in society and points up abuses that genuinely +need correction. But the communists aren’t interested in John Doe. They +do not try to discover the true facts in his case, study his background, +or improve his condition. Here in the day’s news is a human tragedy that +can be exploited for propaganda purposes. That is enough. + +The Party machinery springs into action, typical of thousands of +mass-agitation campaigns. + +The communist press publicizes the case with pictures, an interview with +the wrongdoer, stories about his family. It carries heart-rending and +sentimental accounts, without regard to truth or the suffering of the +victim of the crime or the sorrow of his loved ones. + +If the arrested person is a member of a minority group, or a veteran, the +father of ten children, a union member or unemployed, the agitational +appeal is broadened. “Union Member Framed on Murder Charge.” “Unemployed +Veteran Railroaded to Jail.” “Father of 10 Arrested on False Charges.” +Almost always the charge of “police brutality” is thrown in too. + +In a few days a decision must be made. Should the campaign continue? +Maybe the case is quickly over, no special interest having been aroused. +Or the “victim” himself announces that he’s been treated fairly and has +no personal ill feelings. That’s the end. The Party drops it. + +Such campaigns are sometimes carried on for months or years, with +varying degrees of intensity. The Party is a self-appointed collector of +“victims” of “framed evidence,” “lynch justice,” “Gestapo brutality,” +“academic witchhunts.” These “martyrs of injustice” include old-timers +like Sacco and Vanzetti and the Scottsboro Case, now remembered only +in “memorials”; and recent ones, such as the “Martinsville Seven,” the +“Trenton Six” or the Rosenbergs; or hot-off-the-griddle varieties, such +as those appearing in the current Party press. All are trotted out at the +slightest twist of tongue or pencil as exhibits of capitalist “terror” +and communist “benevolence.” + +Certain exploitation standards determine whether the campaign is to +continue: Can large numbers of people be influenced? Is a public official +involved—the more prominent the better—who can be undermined and smeared? +Will other communist ventures be aided? Can the Party gain recruits? +(Mass agitation is always linked to Party building.) Can financial gains +be secured for the Party? + +The Party searches American life for agitational points: the eviction +of a family, the arrest of a Negro, a proposed rise in transit fares, +a bill to increase taxes, a miscarriage of justice, the underpayment +of a worker, the dismissal of a teacher, a shooting by law-enforcement +officers. Some of the cases, unfortunately, do reflect mistakes or +blemishes in American society. Others are twisted by the Party into +agitational items. + +Once the decision has been made to continue the campaign, the next step +is probably the formation of the XYZ Committee to Save John Doe: a +communist front, born at 9:00 A.M., full grown by 10:30 A.M., mailing out +letters by noon. This gives the illusion of organized interest, focuses +attention, and masks communist participation. Purpose (deceptive) is to +gain “justice” for the defendant; purpose (real): to advance communism. + +Attract attention by building up a bonfire of agitation. Suddenly, +almost like magic, a “women’s” group in Oregon, a “farmers’” meeting in +Oklahoma, a “consumers’” conference in West Virginia pass resolutions: +“Save John Doe!” Literature is scattered, other groups contacted. The +Party becomes the agitational base. Who is John Doe? The members don’t +know, except that he’s the newest twist in the Party line. That’s enough! + +The Party has now started a mass-agitation campaign. Its success depends +on securing noncommunist support. Members contact community leaders, such +as judges, members of the city council, doctors, lawyers, clergymen, +educators, social workers, trying to obtain statements or testimonials. + +The communist is no longer a shadowy figure deep underground or meeting +secretly at night. He is knocking on doors, seeing prominent people, +attending city council meetings. + + I feel that John Doe has been wrongly arrested [or convicted, + as the case may be]. I am compelled in the interests of justice + to demand that he be released. + +That is a typical testimonial to be sent to authorities and the press. + +The technique of obtaining testimonials is always to start with a +sympathizer, the kind who will authorize his name for any communist +campaign. Some are so “controlled” that headquarters uses their names +without consultation, even preparing their statements. Others are +contacted on each occasion. + +They next reach out for other prominent sympathizers. Officers of +communist fronts make good signers. They usually have imposing “titles.” +Next, branch out to the lukewarm, those who are on the fence; sometimes +they will sign, other times they will not. If not, they must be sold. +Finally come the unsuspecting noncommunists, with contact being made +either in person or on the telephone. + +“Mr. X, I’m So-and-So from the XYZ Committee to Save John Doe. I was +just over at Mr. Y’s office. You know him, don’t you?” + +“Yes,” will come the reply. That gets the interview off to a good start. + +“This is a case I am sure will interest you. You are a lawyer and here is +an individual who is the victim of injustice.... Have you heard about it?” + +“No.” That’s good, the field is clear. + +On and on. “Dr. F, Rev. O, etc., have given statements....” + +The man signs. Another “innocent victim.” Did he know the communist +identity of the solicitor? No. Did he know that the XYZ Committee to Save +John Doe was a communist front? No. Did he realize that by making the +statement he was aiding the communist movement? No. + +For sincere, honest reasons of their own, entirely unrelated to +communism, many individuals may support John Doe. This, of course, does +not make them communists. To call them communists is an injustice, but it +is not unjust to point out that the Party always seeks to exploit such +personal convictions for partisan propaganda. + +The cause of communism must be linked with as many elements in society +as possible. Our fight for John Doe is your fight, the communists say +to labor unions, Negro, professional, cultural, and nationality groups. +Today he’s being “persecuted.” Tomorrow it’ll be your turn. Join with us +and we’ll fight together. + + ... we Communists join with every other democratic-minded + American, irrespective of views, in the common fight to + preserve a common democratic heritage. + +_Deceptive_: the communists are fighting for our “common democratic +heritage”; _real_: to gain the support of noncommunist groups (even “... +those who do not accept Socialism as a final aim”). As Lenin instructed, +seize allies everywhere. Use them for the advantage of furthering +communism. + +Mass agitation is most effective in capturing the support of +noncommunists. By securing even the temporary allegiance of an +individual, as in a testimonial, the Party gains. In this way communist +propaganda enters the orbit of that individual’s personal influence. +“Why,” a friend will say after reading the testimonial, “if So-and-So +endorses that organization [or issue], it must be OK.” The dupe becomes a +communist thought-control relay station. That’s why communists are always +eager to secure the support of doctors, clergymen, teachers, and other +persons highly respected in their communities. The more widely known the +person, the better. + +Circulating petitions is another favorite communist technique for +capturing noncommunist support. + +A young woman stands on the sidewalk. A housewife, carrying a package, +comes out of the grocery store. + +“Pardon me,” the young woman says, approaching her. “Wouldn’t you like to +help a young man win his freedom?” + +The appeal is attractive. The housewife stops. “We have a petition to the +governor asking for the release of John Doe. He’s sentenced to die....” +The housewife looks at the petition. It contains nothing communist. There +is no hammer or sickle or mention of Russia. It is just a statement that +we the undersigned believe that John Doe should be released. “You can +help a lot by signing....” + +She signs and so do thousands of others. Party teams are everywhere, on +street corners, at factory gates, in bus terminals. Sign here, please. +Won’t you send a telegram or write a letter? Here’s a sample all fixed +up. Just sign it. Would you like a leaflet? Won’t you call the governor’s +office? Come to our rally tonight. Write a letter to the newspaper. Is +your club meeting soon? Have it pass a resolution. Your pastor can help. +Have him call a protest meeting. + +The pressure is tabulated in thousands of letters, resolutions, and +telegrams, ten, a hundred times the number of all Party members in the +United States. + +Agitation campaigns are of all types, local, state, and national: + + —dealing with the high cost of living; + + —against a rise in transit fares; + + —opposing a bill in Congress or a state legislature; + + —protesting the showing of a “Fascist” movie; + + —urging amnesty for convicted Smith Act “victims”; + + —demanding “peace”; “repeal the draft”; “more aid to schools”; + + —protesting the arrival in town of some celebrity not liked by + the Party. + +Campaigns involving court cases as a general rule provide the most +sustained agitation. These can be divided into various _exploitation +stages_. + +1. _The arrest stage_: the “victim” has been illegally arrested. The +charges are “trumped up.” + +2. _The trial stage_: “false evidence” is being used, the jury is +“packed,” a fair trial is “impossible.” + +3. _The appeal stage_ (assuming that the defendant is found guilty): in +most cases a guilty verdict serves the communist purpose best. Otherwise, +little propaganda is left, except for a few self-congratulatory articles. +The communists use every device, inside and outside the courtroom, to +break down the American judicial system. + +4. _The clemency stage_: this is probably best suited to agitation. The +Party operates a whole series of tactics. Here are a few: + +Mass meetings. Rallies. Demonstrations. Picket lines. These, also used in +other exploitation stages, now become imbued with “gravity.” “John Doe +Will Die in 2 Weeks. Wire the Governor. Demand His Release.” “Save My +Boy, Please. He’s Innocent.” “Where’s America’s Conscience? This Man Has +Been Framed.” + +Sojourns. Treks. Pilgrimages. Motorcades. Encampments. The convergence on +a selected spot, the state capital or Washington, D.C., of members and +sympathizers from all over the country. + +They arrive by train, battered old trucks, rented buses, hitchhiking. +Get your tickets, meet at the station, don’t miss the Clemency Train. +Day after day the _Daily Worker_ pounds this theme. An operational +headquarters is set up, usually under a fancy Aesopian name such as +“Liberty House” or “Inspiration Center.” + +This tactic—concentrated pressure—is reserved only for special occasions. +Teams visit offices of legislators, officials of the government, and +demand to see the governor or President. Make everyone think that +“millions” are demanding clemency. A cascade of telegrams, letters, +petitions, resolutions pours in, promoted by comrades back home. “The +city was stirred today by the _nation’s_ demand for clemency for John +Doe....” writes the Party’s press agent. Probably 250 communists and +their sympathizers were in town. + +The hour of judicial decision or execution nears. The drama is +heightened. “Prayer meetings” are held by communists, who do not believe +in prayer. Then the super climax: a “vigil.” The comrades start a +marching line, twenty-four hours around the clock, demanding “mercy,” +“clemency.” One day, two days, five days, twelve days, the line moves +back and forth in front of the governor’s mansion, or more dramatic, the +White House. Placards read: “Mercy for John Doe.” “Mr. Governor, Don’t +You Have a Heart?” Any testimonials secured from prominent individuals +bob and weave in the marching line. Leaflets are handed out. + +In two hours comes a new shift. Paraders walk silently, sometimes in +single file, at other times two abreast, usually six to eight feet apart. +This isn’t supposed to be a flamboyant affair, but sad and mournful, +designed to capture the emotions. Death is near! “Clemency _Now_—Only 12 +Hours Left.” “Can America Allow an Innocent Man to Die?” + +The shift is over. The members whisk back to “Liberty House,” grab a bite +to eat, hear a pep talk, then return for another “tour of duty.” Cots are +available for sleep. In this way a few fanatical comrades can attract the +attention of thousands. Over the week end other comrades, off from work, +“flood” into a city and, in the flaming words of the Party press, march +by the “thousands”—meaning probably 250 to 300. “There’s Still Time to +Act. Send Telegrams, Letters to the Governor.” Mount the pressure. So +long as John Doe is alive he must be exploited. + +5. _The imprisonment stage_: the defendant becomes a showpiece. He +is visited by his wife (called a “prison wife”) and his family, and +delegations go to see him. Sentimental and heart-tearing accounts are +written: “... as the train sped me northward, my eyes ached with unwept +tears of loneliness.” “I heard [his] quiet voice. I looked into his calm +eyes. But I noted too the tight lines of controlled grimness about his +mouth and the narrowed tightness about his eyes.” + +Birthday-card campaigns are initiated. Send John Doe a Christmas +greeting. His picture is published. His “speeches” become “quotable +scripture.” A nine-year-old son visits him ... the child is shocked by +the “watchtowers,” “gigantic searchlights,” “locked iron doors” ... the +visit is over ... the little boy tells his mother, “After all, if Daddy +didn’t have such good political ideas he wouldn’t be there in the first +place.” (He is a Smith Act “victim.”) + +The communist press will invariably superimpose its judgment on that +of a jury and judge with a trumped-up charge that the homicide was +justifiable, the evidence framed, or the witness had committed perjury. +It will have a defense for the crime that would cause the person not +familiar with the facts or the record of the trial to wonder. And the +longer the lapse of time, the more real the trumped-up defense will sound +to the uninformed. This might go on for years. For example, the Women’s +Committee for Equal Justice was not disbanded until seven years after +Rosa Lee Ingram and her two sons had been convicted and sentenced in a +Georgia court for the slaying of a neighbor. + +6. _The post-imprisonment stage_: most of the propaganda value is +generally gone when this stage is reached. If the “victim” is dead, +“memorial” services may occasionally be held or articles written. + +The cycle has run. The campaign may be dropped at any moment, shifted +to a new tack, used to buttress another approach. Another purpose, +especially in espionage cases, is to make the “victim” think he is a +“martyr” and believe that any cooperation with the American government, +such as implicating others or giving vital information, would be a +betrayal. Better to have him executed by the government for his crimes +than to expose other communists. + +These campaigns are designed to dramatize communists and their front +representatives as “champions” of the masses. They foster the illusion +that these individuals are progressive, enlightened, and humanitarian, +acting in the best interests of the American people. “We stand for +freedom when everybody else is not interested.” That is the illusion. + +The real motive is to prepare both the Party and noncommunist society +for revolutionary action. Members gain experience in mass work: the +art of propaganda and agitation, organizing social discontent, guiding +large numbers. Leadership, discipline, and organizational structure can +be tested. Moreover, communists hope to make workers and the masses +class-conscious, accepting the Party as their leader (in Party terms +called _radicalizing_ the masses). Sow seeds of discontent; weaken, +divide, and neutralize anticommunist opposition; above all, undermine the +American judicial process. + +Law enforcement has long been a target of communist attack. As legal +opposition crystallized, these Party attacks, especially on the FBI, +prosecutive officials, and police, have mounted in intensity. + +Lenin taught that it was essential for every “real people’s revolution” +to destroy the “ready-made state machinery.” Wherever communists have +been able to exercise any measure of control, their first step has been +to hamstring and incapacitate law enforcement. + +The communist performance in the Indian state of Kerala is a good +illustration. Within a few months after a procommunist government came +into control, “people’s action committees” were formed which began +to usurp the functions of the law courts. Then the state police were +handcuffed by orders to stand on the sidelines except when crimes such +as murder, rape, arson, and assault occurred. Many communists were freed +from jail, and public statements were issued that many penal institutions +would be closed and their grounds turned into flower gardens. A +noncommunist official of the Indian government reported a “complete +breakdown of law and order.” + +Experience over the years has demonstrated that every time communists +are able to avert justice through technicalities, there is not only +jubilation in Party circles but also increased urgings for more brazen +Party action. + +Day-to-day struggles are battle-hardening dress rehearsals for +revolution. William Z. Foster boasted, “... capitalism will die sword +in hand, fighting in vain to beat back the oncoming revolutionary +proletariat.” + +Often communists find it effective to carry out their agitation campaigns +through organizations not generally recognized as procommunist. These +can be either (1) old-time organizations which have been “infiltrated,” +or (2) newly established communist fronts. The next two chapters will +discuss these forms of communist campaigning. + + + + +16. + +_Infiltration_ + + +Infiltration is the method whereby Party members move into noncommunist +organizations for the purpose of exercising influence for communism. If +control is secured, the organization becomes a communist front. This +chapter shows how infiltration works and what you can do about it. + +Infiltration is one of the oldest of communist tactics, advocated by +Lenin and Stalin. For instance, listen to this exhortation by Georgi +Dimitroff, General Secretary, before the Seventh World Congress of the +Communist International: + + Comrades, you remember the ancient tale of the capture of Troy. + Troy was inaccessible to the armies attacking her, thanks to + her impregnable walls. And the attacking army, after suffering + many sacrifices, was unable to achieve victory until with the + aid of the famous Trojan horse it managed to penetrate to the + very heart of the enemy’s camp. + +Homer’s famous story, Dimitroff said, must be applied to the twentieth +century. “We ... should not be shy about using the same tactics....” The +Trojan horse has enabled the Party to wield an influence far in excess of +its actual numbers. + +For example, a community emergency occurred and assistance was badly +needed in a stricken area. A labor union in Cleveland, Ohio, raised +money to purchase food for distribution to the victims of this adversity +in a small West Virginia town where families actually were in want for +the necessities of life. The Communist Party organizer in Cleveland +instructed a concealed Party member of the union that the truck driver +was to deliver the food to a specified address in the stricken area in +West Virginia where it would do the most “good.” + +Here a noncommunist organization was paying the bill, thinking that it +was doing a generous act of charity. Yet concealed communists within its +ranks were subverting the generosity to communist ends. Since the Party +had actual control over the distribution, who do you think got credit for +the generosity? + +Such incidents are frequent. Strikes have been called or settlements +influenced by Party penetration within labor unions. Party manipulation +has controlled the conventions of noncommunist organizations and +determined the selection of officers. An idea originated in a Party +office can, through this technique, be translated within days or hours +into interviews with high government officials, into intensive agitation +campaigns, or even, as has happened, into disruption of industrial +production. + +No wonder the Party desperately seeks to infiltrate labor unions, +the government, civic and community groups, religious, professional, +economic, and social organizations. It desires to make these +organizations, in various ways, serve Party interests. + +Party leaders spend much time and effort in studying infiltration +strategy and tactics. A hasty, ill-advised, or poorly timed move might +wipe out months of preparation. Should the objective be complete capture +of the organization or the placing of a few key members? If the latter, +where should the initial attack be delivered? Would it be better to place +a member on the midnight or on the swing shift? Where can the greatest +and most immediate gains be secured? A flexible strategy, adapted to +current conditions, must be employed. + +Communists have probably worked harder to infiltrate American labor +unions than any other group. Since the days of Lenin, labor has been a +favorite target. The Russian dictator was explicit: + + It is necessary to ... agree to any and every sacrifice, + and even—if need be—to resort to all sorts of stratagems, + manoeuvres and illegal methods, to evasion and subterfuges in + order to penetrate the trade unions, to remain in them, and to + carry on Communist work in them at all costs. + +The statement is frank: Communists are not interested in the laboring +man, higher wages, better working conditions, shorter hours. They want to +get inside unions in order to agitate for communism. + +An overwhelming majority of American labor-union members are honest, +hard-working, loyal citizens. They detest communism. This has been proven +time after time. Alerted to the presence of communists, they will cast +them out. Most of the Party’s gains achieved prior to and during World +War II in the labor movement have now been destroyed. + +These defeats, however, have not halted the danger. “At least 90 per cent +of all of our efforts,” one Party writer asserted, must be devoted to +industrial workers. Drawing on years of experience, the Party is today +attacking labor unions with renewed vigor. The best way to defeat this +assault is to know communist tactics of action. + +The first thing in labor-union infiltration tactics is to secure a +foothold inside a union, through a single comrade or, better yet, two or +three. Comrades then do everything possible to build up strength inside +the organization, creating a shop club. + +Members of shop clubs are expected to promote Party influence in all +possible ways. Very important is the recruitment of new members. The +Party’s influence depends on members, especially on their strategic +placement in the union and in industry. + +“How-to-recruit” suggestions, for example, are often supplied to shop +comrades. One Party manual urges that members mix with the workers and +cultivate friendships. + + Especially must the Communist mingle with his fellow workers + at noon time and participate in the general discussions and + conversations that take place. + +Always try to steer these discussions, the manual says, into “economic +and political channels”—so as to provide the chance to insert communist +propaganda. And don’t use technical Party terms. Learn to express “our +Marxian line” in good “American slang.” Communism can best be sold in the +everyday language of the prospect. + +If the worker shows “interest” (the communists say if “he’s more +advanced”), give him a _Daily Worker_ or pamphlet to read. Then invite +him to a meeting or “study group.” + +Try to stay with him after working hours. “The majority of our Party +members become Communists only after working hours, around 6 P.M.” For +communists there is no such thing as an eight-hour day. + +The over-all work of infiltration, especially of shop clubs, is +coordinated by Party strategy caucuses; that is, Party-called meetings +where the problems of infiltration are studied. They are generally +held on an industry basis, such as the automobile, steel, railroad, +mining, and electrical industries, with members employed in these fields +attending. + +Party caucuses operate on different levels. There will be, for example, +local caucuses of Party members employed in a certain industry in a +given area, such as the automobile or electrical industry in Detroit +or Cleveland. Then there are state and national caucuses, with Party +leaders being drawn from wider areas. Party labor directors are usually +in charge. In the past, for instance, national “auto” caucuses were often +held in Cleveland or Detroit, “steel” in Youngstown, “electrical” in +Buffalo, and “mining” in Pittsburgh. Sometimes Party leaders in related +unions, such as automobile and steel, are brought together in a general +communist labor conference. + +These caucuses are literally strategy-devising meetings, where problems +and procedures are analyzed with X-ray precision. Noncommunists probably +do not realize how carefully communists study “capitalist” companies, +wage policies, personnel, etc. The objective always is: How can the +company and the union be used to implement the Party line, as support for +“peace,” the Smith Act “victims,” or some current Party “martyr”? + +For an answer let’s look in on one Party caucus. + +Leslie, from the northwestern part of the state, was reporting on what +his shop club was doing, that is, soliciting signatures to a “peace” +petition. + +“We got seven hundred and four signatures in a little over three days +last week.” + +“Keep at it,” the organizer responded. “Get more signature campaigns +going. Contact those people who have already signed. See if they are +friendly and understand our position. If so, go a third time. (Maybe +a recruit could be secured.) Encourage them to circulate a petition +themselves.” + +“At our plant,” another Party leader commented, “we started a committee +to protect freedom of speech. It’s a good issue and we’ve had some fine +response. I think we ought to soon rally some support for the Smith Act +victims. I hope we can get some contributions too.” + +“Fine,” the organizer added, “but always remember that we must stress +our united-front campaign. We’ve got to show the workers in these +right-wing [that is, anticommunist] unions that the Party stands for +peace, higher wages, and better working conditions. + +“What if most of the workers don’t agree with communism?” the organizer +continued. “That doesn’t keep them from working with us. We’ve got +to convince them that we must all work together, that we have common +aims. Besides, it will help us organize the rank and file against the +reactionary [anticommunist] leadership.” + +The caucuses give guidance. This is how to agitate on Party issues: Issue +petitions and resolutions, set up a “peace” stand outside the shop gate, +start a front. Ideas are exchanged, weaknesses analyzed, tactical shifts +worked out, all under supervision of Party headquarters. + +Sometimes the caucuses manipulate special “deals” to enhance Party +influence. The following case, which occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, is +revealing: + +“Howard,” the organizer said, addressing one of the older members, +“you’ve got to give up your job as editor of the union’s newspaper.” + +“Give up ...,” the member said, surprised. + +“Your time’s running out. You’re just about pegged as a communist. If you +try to stay on another year, you’ll be thrown out. That’ll cause a rumpus +and we’ll lose ground. Step out now.” + +“OK,” the member replied, accepting the instruction. “I think I can get +Elmer elected in my place. Dick may want it, but we’ve got to stop him.” + +“Right you are,” the organizer said. “Dick is a vicious Red baiter. He’s +a faker and reactionary. I’d rather have the paper discontinued than have +him as editor.” + +“Elmer isn’t known as a communist,” the member added. “Of course, if I +support him it’ll tag him somewhat, but....” + +“That’s our best approach, Howard,” the organizer said. “Submit your +resignation tomorrow. You’ll catch Dick and his cronies off guard. Then +push all you can for Elmer.” + +What follows now is a case history which reveals the whole sinister +process of infiltration. It concerns an organization that we shall call +The 123 Group, typical of many trade-union, fraternal, civic, community, +and nationality groups. It covers a six-year struggle for control between +the Communist Party—working through a group of open and concealed +members, sympathizers, and dupes—and a noncommunist opposition, at first +unorganized, hitting wildly, but later to become all-powerful. + +The 123 Group was an influential and respected noncommunist organization. +Even partly to control its actions would be of great value to the Party. + +The problem for communist headquarters was how best to attack. The +obvious target, as in most organizations, was the officers. To control +one officer, such as a president, secretary, or treasurer, is often +worth ten, twenty, or fifty rank-and-file members. Everything must be +done to prepare for the next elections in an effort to oust as many +anticommunists as possible and replace them with pro-Party people or at +least neutrals. + +All officers of The 123 Group were bitterly anticommunist except one, the +secretary. He would have loudly protested if called a Party member, and +he wasn’t; but for many years he had maintained cordial contacts with +Party officials. He was, in every respect, a sympathizer. He was popular +and had a large personal following among the rank and file. For this +reason the anticommunists had not been able to defeat him. Here was the +obvious weak point. + +“We’ve got to draw up an entire slate of candidates,” the Party organizer +emphasized. “Let’s call it the ‘Reform Ticket.’ We must include a few +reactionaries. That’ll hide our interest.” Then the frank admission: “We +must not show our hand. We’ll run on a program acceptable to the right +wing as much as possible. After we get in we’ll take control.” + +The communist Trojan horse was jockeying for position. Maneuver often +compensates for lack of numbers and organizational position. Deals, +stratagems, and hypocrisy must be given free play. + +The secretary-sympathizer agreed to run on the Reform Ticket. His name +would lend prestige and give the ticket a capable career officer. Here +was the first breakthrough. More deals, however, were necessary. + +The chief problem now was the presidency. Whom to run? A known +procommunist could not win. To support another anticommunist was +unthinkable. The answer: an opportunist. + +The right man was at hand, a noncommunist, personally ambitious, who +disliked the current president. Lacking a dynamic personality, a “little +backward,” as one Party official called him, he could be “guided.” He was +just the man to head the ticket. + +He was contacted. Run for president and you’ll receive “our” support. +The communists, of course, didn’t openly identify themselves. The +opportunist, however, probably suspected, but he didn’t care. That is +the mark of an opportunist: his personal ambition is so great that it +overrides every other consideration. + +Now the other noncommunist candidates on the Reform Ticket must be chosen. + +To communists there are different degrees of “foes.” A “60 per cent” foe +is better “working material” than a “100 per cent” foe. Another may be +appraised as a 40 or even 10 percenter. In drawing up the slate, find as +many “low percenters” as possible. Also there is the practical factor, +always to be remembered, of selecting candidates who can “pull” votes to +the ticket. + +These deals were made. + +Then there was the task, after selection of the slate (which contained +concealed communists along with noncommunists), of getting it elected. + +This meant more strategy, manipulation, and deals. The communists could +count on only a small minority of the vote—their own members and a +few sympathizers. Their tactic lay in exploiting existing jealousies, +conflicts, and dissatisfactions among the majority noncommunists. To +catch the secret of communist infiltration tactics, we must understand +how the Party, with great skill, is able to exploit, guide, and +capitalize on the splits and lack of interest in noncommunist ranks. +That’s how the Party is able to wield an influence far out of proportion +to its numbers. + +There was, of course, the usual share of communist deals. One technique, +often used, is a deal with a noncommunist member of the group who is +running for office in another organization in which the communists also +have members. “Support our candidates here,” the deal goes, “and we’ll +help you next week.” Then there is the communist who is a union official +or company foreman who says to a noncommunist member of the group, “Maybe +we can consider a promotion for you at the plant if....” + +Another technique is to urge “benevolent neutrality” upon those +noncommunists who are wavering and might vote for the current officers; +that’s a good day for them to stay home or go fishing! + +Result: The Reform Ticket won a complete victory. Now one-third of the +officers, five Party members, were controlled by Party headquarters. The +rest were virtual prisoners. + +To infiltrate an organization is only a first step. It must be made to +serve Party interests. There are many ways: + +1. A proposal, promoted by the communists, was made that Henry G., both +a member of The 123 Group and a secret communist, be sent as an official +delegate to the National Convention of a communist-front organization. +This group was painted in glowing terms as a fighter for human rights. +No mention was made of communist control. Opponents objected, labeled +it as a communist “outfit.” The vote was taken: motion passed, and the +communist member went, expenses paid. + +2. A concealed communist was running for public office. Motion was made +that his candidacy be endorsed. Again another outcry from the opponents, +but the motion passed. + +3. “John Doe is a victim of injustice. We should pass a resolution to +be sent to the governor demanding his freedom....” An anticommunist +protested, “It’s not our business to be passing resolutions about such +matters.” “A reactionary,” replies the spokesman for the communist line. +“Aren’t you interested in justice?” Label your opponents as “Fascists,” +“reactionaries,” “hardhearted.” The vote was taken: motion passed. + +4. The communists had established a Party “front school.” Money was +needed for expansion. One source: The 123 Group. Motion was made that a +contribution be sent to the “school.” Passed. A tactic the communists +like to use: Make noncommunists “share” the Party’s expenses. + +5. Other ways: seize, if possible, the group’s bulletin or newspaper. +Make it a Party mouthpiece, or at least attempt to silence or weaken its +criticism. The instructions flow steadily from Party headquarters: start +a letter-writing campaign, pass this foreign-policy resolution, contact a +public official. The 123 Group becomes a masquerade for communist attack. + +In one instance an official of The 123 Group (who was also a secret +communist) was invited to testify before a congressional investigating +committee about a certain economic development. What did he do? He +went to the Party and asked for copies of the _Daily Worker_ and other +communist background material. Now he had the Party line! + +Such victories are not always easily won. One requirement is a +well-planned floor strategy for all club meetings. That’s the secret of +many Party successes. First, as one Party leader expressed it, “we want +our mob present.” No absences are allowed. Every Party vote is needed. If +a motion is to be made, who will present it? When? Early in the evening +while the crowd is large? Or much later when many of the delegates, but +not the communists, have gone home? How should objections be handled? If +concessions must be made, which ones? + +Every move is planned. + +If a communist is chairman, the task is easier. He can use many +parliamentary devices such as not recognizing an opposition speaker, +rushing votes, ruling opponents out of order. The communists, one member +remarked, always had the meetings “so well in hand” in his organization +that an “outsider” had no chance of even voicing opposition. + +Numerous tricks can be used; for example the diamond formation, seating +members in a diamond pattern. This gives the impression, during debate, +that Party supporters are more numerous than they actually are. Another +is the false opposition. Selected members make foolish, silly, and stupid +objections to communist proposals. The purpose: to make the communists +look even better. + +Communist infighting is vicious and utterly devoid of moral principle. + +For several years the Party controlled The 123 Group. Time after time, +the organization consisting of hundreds of members was subverted for +Party purposes. + +Then troubles began to appear. Some sympathizers and opportunists grew +restive. Noncommunist opposition increased. + +Party counterattacks were launched. + +The first problem was to hold the opportunist-president in line. Vanity +is a weapon in the early stages. Do everything you can to “blow up” his +ego. Raise his salary (the organization pays for it, not the Party). +Give him a testimonial dinner. Send him as a delegate to a convention, +preferably as far away as possible. The communist vice-president will run +affairs until he returns. + +Frequently, as time passes, opportunists and sympathizers become +“big-headed.” They don’t do what they are told. “Jack J. is feeling the +effects of power,” one Party leader complained. “He’s forgetting his +old factional allies.” Now stronger measures must be applied. Remind +him forcefully that it is communist support which keeps him in office. +“Encircle the guy,” as one Party member recommended, meaning to make +him even more dependent on the Party. Perhaps cut his salary. A little +“smear” campaign might be effective. + +If new alignments can be made, he might be dropped. If not, he’ll be +subjected to even stronger pressure. Blackmail and threats are often part +of communist tactics at this stage. + +Finally, six years later, The 123 Group eliminated the communist +infiltration after a long, tiring battle. Here were some of the basic +points the noncommunist opposition had to keep everlastingly in mind: + +1. _Rally the majority noncommunist strength._ The communists, usually +a minority, capitalize on the lack of interest of noncommunists. One +communist member was elected to office with only 3 per cent of the total +eligible vote. + +2. _Remember that communism is always an evil, never a temporary good._ +Often communists give the impression of working for the best interests of +the group. “What do you care whether we are communists?” one Party leader +asked. “We’re trying to help you.” Another quipped: “Politics don’t +matter. It’s the issues that count.” That’s wrong. Any conciliation, +friendship, or trust placed in communism will sooner or later be +exploited against democratic society. + +3. _Don’t underestimate communist ability._ Many communists are extremely +intelligent. One Party leader was described by an opponent as very +capable, well versed in parliamentary procedure, and possessing an +excellent command of English. To think of communists as mere rabble +rousers and nuisances is to risk defeat. + +4. _Understand communist tactics._ Learn how they, though numerically +few, are able to exert a maximum influence. Deceit is one of their +strongest weapons. + +5. _Stand up and be counted._ Many noncommunists hesitate to speak up in +meetings. They fear to be attacked by an acid-tongued Party spokesman. +They may remember Mr. So-and-So. He opposed a communist proposal several +weeks ago. Now look at him. He hasn’t slept a full night for weeks. +Somebody is constantly calling him on the telephone. His relatives are +pestered. It’s best, they think, just to stay away from meetings or, if +there, remain silent. Others, irritated, bored, or simply “fed up” with +communist tactics, walk out. Just what the communists want. They have +a clear field. Speak your mind. Stand your ground. Don’t be afraid to +defend American liberty. + +6. _Wage the fight in a democratic manner._ Emotion should never replace +reason as a weapon. To pursue extralegal methods is simply to injure your +cause. Fight hard, but fight according to the rules. + +When communists speak of their desire to advance the cause of labor, the +question should always be asked: What is their objective? In August, +1957, streetcar and bus workers went on strike in Lodz, Poland. The +workers were using this means to protest against the unfulfilled promises +of the leaders of the Polish Communist government. The strike was soon +brought to a halt through the use of some 3000 troops with fixed bayonets +and police who fired tear gas into the milling mob. + +While the communists were demonstrating their brutality and terroristic +tactics against labor in Poland, American communists were giving another +demonstration of how they habitually ignore the truth. William Z. Foster, +as the elder statesman of the Communist Party in the United States, was +saying: + + One of the most striking phenomena of the capitalist world in + recent years has been the enormous extension of the workers’ + fight for democracy—among other phases, to defend their right + to organize and strike.... World Socialism has enormously + stimulated this struggle. + +The answer is a simple one. The communists, once in control, crush every +opponent, while, in coming to power, they promise everything to soften +the opposition. This opposition will be “softened,” however, only if we +allow infiltration to take place before our very eyes without knowing it +for what it is. + + + + +17. + +_The Communist Front_ + + +The auditorium was packed. More than 1000 delegates and observers waved +their arms enthusiastically, along with some 200 others who did not fill +out registration forms to avoid leaving a record of their attendance. +(The _Daily Worker_ said they were in “... fear of intimidation.”) +This was the founding convention of the National Negro Labor Council, +a new organization dedicated to “equality,” “social progress,” and the +upholding of “civil rights.” Speeches, resolutions, election of officers, +everything ran smoothly. Two days later came adjournment. A new communist +front had been born. + +Delegates had come from all over the United States. They would now +return to their home cities, start local chapters, enroll members, issue +literature. + +A master organizing hand was at work. One thousand individuals just +didn’t arrive by accident. + +The convention call was communist-inspired. For weeks in advance, local +Party members had been arranging housing, running errands, securing +finances. + +The Council claimed that its purpose was to aid the Negro; however, the +House Committee on Un-American Activities concluded that, “rather than +helping the Negro worker, it has been a deterrent to him.” + +The founding of the National Negro Labor Council was typical of many +Party fronts created over the past generation. + +Fronts probably represent the Party’s most successful tactic in +capturing noncommunist support. Like mass agitation and infiltration, +fronts espouse the deceptive Party line (hence the term “front”) while +actually advancing the real Party line. In this way the Party is able to +influence thousands of noncommunists, collect large sums of money, and +reach the minds, pens, and tongues of many high-ranking and distinguished +individuals. Moreover, fronts are excellent fields for Party recruitment. + +A front is an organization which the communists openly or secretly +control. The communists realize that they are not welcome in American +society. Party influence, therefore, is transmitted, time after time, +by a belt of concealed members, sympathizers, and dupes. Fronts become +transmission belts between the Party and the noncommunist world. Earl +Browder, when head of the Party, gave this definition: “Transmission +belts mean having Communists work among the masses in the various +organizations.” + +Some may be newly created, or, as often happens, they may be old-line +organizations captured by infiltration, like The 123 Group mentioned +in the preceding chapter. They may operate nationally, regionally, or +locally. Some are permanent organizations; others exist for only a day, a +week, or a month. + +The Party has operated hundreds of major fronts in practically every +field of Party agitation: “peace,” civil rights, protection of the +foreign-born, support for Smith Act “victims,” abolition of H-bomb tests, +exploitation of nationality and minority groups. Some are based on +specific appeal, to teachers, writers, lawyers, labor, women, youth. Many +have national officers, local chapters, and substantial assets. + +In addition, literally hundreds of minor fronts of all shapes, sizes, +and types appear each year in everyday Party life. They serve a specific +short-time purpose, then disappear. A few handbills, a rally, or a picket +line, and a front has gone to work. + +We must not think of fronts in terms of legitimate organizations. A few +fronts collect dues, issue a newspaper, or sponsor organized activities, +such as a sports program or cultural affairs. Most, however, exist only +on paper. Their assets usually consist of a few office supplies, a +secondhand Mimeograph machine, and a mailing list. The danger of a Party +front rests not on its physical appearance or size but on its ability to +deceive. + +A few fronts may maintain separate headquarters, usually in a small room +in an old building. Some operate from Party headquarters, a basement, or +somebody’s home. Often they are found in clusters, one office serving +as the headquarters for two, three, or a half-dozen fronts. The only +difference is the wording of their names. + +“Front schools,” where Marxist and related subjects were available +for noncommunist students, have been most important to the communists +over the years. In one such school it is estimated that over 100,000 +individuals received instruction; in another, 75,000. + +Every front, in its own way, is fighting the Party’s battles: + + —sponsoring agitation campaigns; + + —collecting money (fronts are one of the Party’s chief sources + of income); + + —supplying speakers for noncommunist organizations (it’s + surprising the number of requests received by front groups, + especially those sponsoring “peace” and “civil rights,” for + speakers. A sympathizer or dupe who has prominence in the + community, such as a lawyer or professor, will often be sent); + + —issuing literature; + + —sponsoring mass rallies; + + —lobbying for or against legislative bills; + + —influencing key individuals whom the Party could not otherwise + reach; + + —teaching Marxist doctrines. + +During the recent period when most Party headquarters were closed because +of a tactical shift to underground operations, fronts performed many +functions for the Party. In Chapter 20, we shall see this aspect of +fronts. + +A single front can generate terrific communist pressure. Take this case, +for example: + +Time: shortly after lunch. Agnes G, executive secretary of the DEF +Committee to Fight the High Cost of Living, is reading a letter. + +Dan H enters the office. “It’s happened. The legislature just passed the +Anticommunist Bill.” + +This bill must be stopped. + +As a first step Agnes dictates a letter to Professor Frank Y, a “good +friend” at the university. “Issue a statement right away. This bill +threatens freedom of speech. It must be vetoed.” + +Then more letters are sent to teachers, clergymen, several lawyers. +Contact is made with key Party members and sympathizers. + +“The Anticommunist Bill has passed. Send telegrams to the governor, +urging a veto. Start a petition circulating.” + +Next, a bold step: Agnes places a telephone call to the governor. + +“Mr. Governor, I’m speaking for the DEF Committee to Fight the High +Cost of Living. We are disturbed about the passage of the Anticommunist +Bill. We feel you should veto it. Would it be possible to have our +representatives meet with you?” + +The governor agrees. He wants to hear all points of view. The DEF +Committee sounds like one of many groups interested in this legislation. + +An appointment is made. + +Pressure was being built up. The front could enter where the Party never +dreamed of going. Three ministers, an attorney, and a newspaperman were +contacted. Would they see the governor as part of the delegation? + +“I want Larry R to go along,” Agnes says. “He’s not too bright a guy, but +he’s easy and willing. I can tell him what to say. Besides, he’s from a +very respectable organization.” + +Nothing was said about the fact that this delegation was serving a +communist purpose. + +Every point had to be planned. “Be sure the right people do the talking.” +About one fellow the Party organizer had commented, “Better have him stay +quiet.” You never know, maybe a dupe will say something out of place. + +How to talk to the governor? The delegation could act like “nice, little +people,” but that wouldn’t be very impressive. Or it could be vaguely +threatening. The latter suggestion was ruled out as too dangerous. + +Not everything went according to plan. One minister refused to go. Agnes +became angry. “It takes this kind of work,” she fumed, “to see what +ministers are made of—dishwater.” + +A wonderful guy, if you cooperate; if not, you’re a “bum.” + +The delegation was dispatched, a delegation made up chiefly of +noncommunists, yet fighting for communist aims, a delegation organized +exclusively by a communist front. The DEF Committee was not interested in +opposing the high cost of living. _It was fighting for communism._ + +Fronts exist not in isolation but as part of a vast, interlaced front +system. Communist pressure can be greatly increased by manipulating these +organizations. + +Take, for example, roof, or compound, fronts. Here a number of fronts, as +in the nationality field, will form a super, over-all front such as the +old American League Against War and Fascism, which at its peak claimed +7,500,000 members. Often the propaganda value is to show unity: all these +organizations, representing many different nationalities, are working +together for common aims. + +Or consider the National Negro Labor Council, mentioned at the beginning +of this chapter. This also was a roof, or compound, front created by +already existing fronts. Let’s see how this works. + +First, “delegates” must be “elected” to a “national founding convention.” +Immediately, communist fronts across the nation “elect delegates,” and +communist-controlled labor unions choose as their delegates those best +suited for convention service. + +At the convention all arrangements are made by Party leaders, including +the selection of officers, the issuing of press releases, the passing of +resolutions. This includes the actual running of the convention to ensure +security. To illustrate, a newspaper reporter went to the convention. He +had once been a Party member but had been expelled. On the first day of +the convention one of the officials invited him outside and asked if he +had been expelled. The reporter admitted that he had, and was ordered not +to come back into the convention hall. + +Hailed as representing “thousands of members,” the new organization is a +front created out of fronts. + +Another technique of manipulation is the continuing front. Here the same +front is maintained by changing the name to meet current conditions. In +1940 the American Peace Mobilization was formed, urging mobilization for +peace and no aid to Britain. In 1941, after Germany’s invasion of Russia, +the name was changed to American People’s Mobilization, and the demands +to all-out aid to Britain and a second front. This was the same group +with a different name. + +Again, on October 16, 1943, the Young Communist League was dissolved and +the very next day the American Youth for Democracy was formed. Later the +group was called Labor Youth League. All were designed to recruit young +people for communism. + +The continuing front is well suited for “victim” agitation cases; for +example, the Committee to Save John Doe. This group, so active for Doe, +had lapsed into disuse. A new “victim,” Richard Roe, was now at hand. +Resurrect the old front! + +That is exactly what happened. A communist arrived in town and contacted +leaders of the old Committee to Save the Martinsville Seven. Where had it +achieved the best results while agitating for the Seven? What were the +problems? How could it best be used again? + +A few days later the new front was already in action; the Committee to +Save Albert Jackson, the same old faces under a new name. On Sunday +morning its members were handing out leaflets in front of churches. In +this instance Jackson was executed and the comrades turned to other +fields. + +Still another device is the satellite front, a cluster of minor fronts +around a larger front. A new issue, like higher transit rates or the +draining of a swamp, arises. The DEF Committee to Fight the High Cost of +Living (the larger front) starts satellites, such as related committees +in various sections of the city. Many of these satellites are paper +organizations; however, they make a formidable showing to the uninformed. + +These fronts are a vehicle for communist pressure. They are highly +fissionable. From many comes one; from one come many. They can be cut, +sliced, slivered, or compounded to fit any need. No wonder the Party +makes so much use of them in mass agitation. + +The campaign is launched, urging the veto of the Anticommunist Bill. +Let’s see how the Party’s front system is brought into play. + +Suddenly telegrams, letters, petitions pour in on the governor from +all kinds of groups such as organizations protesting higher taxes; +youth, women’s, union, and veterans’ organizations; free-speech groups; +civil-rights organizations. To an uncritical eye it must seem that a +wide stratum of population is interested in a veto of the anticommunist +legislation. Then messages arrive from other countries (from +international fronts), as if the whole world, “millions of people” as the +communists like to say, is vitally interested in the bill. + +Many noncommunists may oppose the legislation for a variety of reasons +and express their opinions by letter, telegram, and petition. That, very +emphatically, does not make them communists. They are only exercising +their democratic privileges. What we are interested in here, however, is +how the Communist Party, through its front system, can stimulate a vast +and often effective propaganda barrage—a barrage which, within hours, can +be turned off or shifted elsewhere. + +Many times fronts appear bewildering in their variety; agitating on +countless issues; based on different groups and occupations; and working +in many ways. But actually their technique of formation is virtually +identical. + +Let’s look briefly inside a communist front and see how it operates. At +the center is always the Party, organizing, manipulating, seeing that the +right persons are in charge. Noncommunists might well ponder this comment +by a Party organizer: + + Experience has shown that most sponsors are unwilling to give + of themselves sufficiently to stop the secretary from directing + policy. + +So true! The communists realize that if the secretary (or other key +officer) is a communist (almost always a concealed member), the Party can +dominate the organization. Let the letterhead glitter with noncommunist +names: president, vice-president, members of the executive board. They +serve as lightning rods, camouflaging the communist interest. To the +sponsors, the prestige; to the communists, the power. + +Around this communist core come layer after layer of noncommunists. +As we have seen in Chapter 15, great emphasis is placed on attracting +noncommunists, the more prominent the better, into communist propaganda +work. These noncommunists, by allowing their names to be used as +sponsors, giving testimonials, or appearing at front rallies, are aiding +the Party. It cannot be emphasized too often how the communists attempt +to exploit for strictly partisan purposes the legitimate interests of +noncommunists in social and economic problems, world peace, civil rights, +and so forth. + +Most important to fronts are mailing lists containing the names of +persons to whom literature can be sent. Perhaps you have received such +propaganda in the mail and wondered whence it came. Party-front mailing +lists are compiled in many ways—from telephone books, directories, +membership rolls of infiltrated organizations (“loaned” by concealed +members). Then the daily press is followed. Front headquarters may jot +down the names of officers in noncommunist organizations. You never know. +Someday they might “come in handy.” + +Party fronts are aggressive. To wait for the noncommunist is wrong. Seek +him out. “We must get into the neighborhoods more and into the home.” +Through rallies, parades, picket lines, forums, debates, circulation of +literature, fronts are constantly seeking public support. They operate on +the main streets of America. + +Another thing: The agitation is always practical. Talk about peace, jobs, +and the price of milk, not Marx’s ideas of revolution. Link the struggle +with “the fight for pork chops.” + + Peace is an everyday issue and ... should involve the + housewife, the woman who has to wrestle with budgets in the + hopeless struggle with taxes, high prices and a shrinking pay + check. + +In one instance, for example, a cookbook was issued by a front, a “dollar +stretcher” containing low-priced menus. Here is the point. These recipes +will help, somewhat. But, Mrs. Housewife, you can never hope for a stable +economy (where prices are always low) until “peace” (Soviet style) is +achieved. + +That’s mixing propaganda with eggs and butter, sugar and salt. + +Many times, trick “come-ons” are used. Consider communist-sponsored +forums, for instance. Here are some Party-suggested topics: + + —Are American marriages a failure? + + —How to find an apartment. + + —Should the voting age be reduced to eighteen years? + + —Future of youth, what is it? + + —Can heart disease be cured? + + —Can cancer be cured or prevented? + + —How to become a cultured person. + +What have these to do with communism? Nothing. But they bring listeners +within talking distance. + +If one thing won’t work, maybe another will, such as a special +celebration, in which a front sponsors an exhibit of “peace” literature +or Russian photographs. Then there are round-robin letters, chain +telephone calls, forums for high school science teachers. One front sold +“Christmas seals.” Another was planning to put out a leaflet. “Fine,” +commented an associate, “but be sure to add the inscription which appears +on the Statue of Liberty. That’ll make it sound better.” Festivals and +rallies, often featuring foreign “dignitaries,” attract hundreds, even +thousands. Don’t forget to conduct polls on the street, always securing +through partisan manipulation “proof” that the “people” support points +advocated in the Party line. + +Communist Parties around the world collaborate whenever it will advance +their cause. Some years ago a women’s conference was convened in +Paris, France, and out of it grew the Women’s International Democratic +Federation. + +Long before the Paris gathering the Communist Party went to work +promoting delegations of American women. One hundred telegrams were +sent out from Communist Party headquarters in New York City to leaders +of various women’s organizations, announcing that they had been chosen +as delegates and inviting them to attend a meeting at the home of the +chairman of the committee. A temporary Committee on Cooperation with the +International Women’s Conference came into being to make arrangements. +An expediter was appointed to get passports, and a special rate of 495 +dollars for a round trip by plane was secured. And so the ladies went to +Paris, many without the slightest idea that the affair had been promoted +by the Communist Party. + +Out of the Women’s International Democratic Federation grew its American +affiliate, the Congress of American Women. Shortly after the Congress +had its first meeting, the National Committee of the Communist Party +met in New York City. At this meeting one of its members discussed the +importance of the Women’s International Democratic Federation to the +Communist Party. This high Party official then stated that the Party did +not then control the newly created Congress of American Women, and that +the communists needed to “infiltrate it more.” The Congress has since +been designated as a subversive organization by the Attorney General, +the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, and the House Committee on +Un-American Activities. + +Earlier in this chapter we spoke of international fronts. The following +is an example: + +An envelope was postmarked at Prague, Czechoslovakia, addressed to an +American college. Inside was a printed letter signed by the Prorector and +Secretary of Charles University, Prague, formerly renowned as a great +European educational institution, now a communist propaganda front. The +letter opened: + + We send you the Proclamation of the Charles University against + the use [by the United States] of the bacteriological warfare + in Korea and urge you to express your views on the named + Proclamation. + +Enclosed was the “PROCLAMATION of the Academic Community of the Charles +University....” + +As you read the message, note the propaganda techniques employed: + +1. _The appeal prostitutes the reputation of a well-known university +for propaganda purposes_: “We, professors, lecturers and the other +scientific workers of the Charles University in Prague, one of the oldest +universities of the world....” + +2. _The appeal allegedly is based on humanitarian and scientific +grounds_: “With full responsibility to our human and scientific +consciences we have considered the danger which threatens all of humanity +through the crimes that are being committed by the American imperialist +army.” + +3. _The appeal is directed to scientific teachers in universities._ The +idea is that an appeal from a member of one profession or occupation to +another is more effective than random appeals. This device is often used, +with Russian writers, artists, musicians addressing their “counterparts” +in America: “We address ourselves to you, scientific workers of +universities of all countries....” + +4. _The weight of scholarly backing is designed to influence opinion._ +(If scientists in this university say the charges are true, they must be +true.) For example: + + These facts prove that the armies of the American + interventionists have repeatedly used bacteriological weapons. + + * * * * * + + From the American airplanes bombs were dropped containing + different kind of insects, rats, etc., which were infected + with plague, cholera and other epidemic diseases, and infected + foodstuffs as well. + + * * * * * + + ... we are ashamed to think of those American members + of medical science who have committed themselves to the + preparation of these repulsive crimes. + +5. _Action is recommended_: “We urge you to refuse to place your +scientific knowledge at the service of mass extermination of mankind.... +Protest not only in your activity as teachers and in your work in the +scientific press, but with your governments as well!” + +The proclamation is designed to make a lie believable, to paint the +United States as a murderer and the Soviet Union as a protector of peace, +thanks to a dignified and “respectable” front. + +Most of this communist propaganda would be laughable except for its +deadly seriousness. The Party is not kidding. This is live ammunition +designed to capture, maim, and kill. To regard communist fronts and their +propaganda as foolishness is to risk our freedom. + +Examine the communist attitude toward parades, for example. Most people +think of parades as a time of interest and commemoration. Not the +communists. Parades are weapons of propaganda, another form of front. + +Listen to these Party instructions, for example, concerning parades, +issued by the old Central Committee of the Party before it was abolished: + +The marchers must be well mannered. Walk in rhythm. Don’t be “a line of +stragglers shuffling along like a tired and discouraged army in retreat.” + + The result is that the value of the demonstration as a means + of impressing and winning over or neutralizing hostile people + along the line of march is lost. + +Here are a few things that should be remembered: + + Every two or three hundred marchers should be led by a band, + a bugle or fife and drum corps. We need scores of bands, with + plenty of brass instruments. + +Banners and placards! Do not be “stingy with the length of sticks.” Cut +out the fancy lettering. It is difficult to read. + +Use good English. “Some slogans are so bad grammatically, that people are +amused at seeing them.” The fewer the words the better. Don’t just “slap” +slogans on cardboard. Make sure they are “politically correct.” + +More advice: carry placards “on a slight angle, with wording facing the +sidewalks.” Scatter them through the parade; avoid bunching. Streamers: +too much pulling causes ripping; not enough causes folding. + +A favorite field for communist fronts is the election campaign for public +office. Running communist candidates for city council, mayor, governor, +even for the presidency of the United States, is an old Party habit. +Never has the Party, running under its own name, been able to secure +many votes. In instances where Party candidates have run under their +own colors, their defeats have almost invariably been disastrous. Party +candidates have run five times (1924 through 1940) for the presidency of +the United States and in 1932 achieved their highest percentage of the +total vote cast—a mere 0.3 per cent, or 102,991 out of almost 40,000,000 +votes cast. Three times the percentage was 0.1, and once, 0.2. In +instances, however, where the Party has maneuvered political alliances, +it has achieved more success, as shown by the election of Benjamin J. +Davis, Jr., and Peter Cacchione, both well-known communists, to the City +Council of New York City in the 1940’s. Yet these campaigns give training +in agitation and enable the Party to smear rivals, scream its propaganda, +and cause unrest. + +Party candidates also frequently run in concealed capacities. +Board-of-education campaigns are well suited to communist exploitation. +Usually running as independents, Party candidates can conceal their +true affiliations. Moreover, national and international issues that +would betray their basic sentiments, such as the Russian intervention +in Hungary, are not likely to arise. In such campaigns Party-sponsored +candidates are invited to parent-teacher meetings, community centers, +public forums, to participate in radio debates (when the time is +donated), and speak in the homes of private citizens. “The Citizens +(or Independent) Committee for ——” takes the candidate where, as a +communist, he could never dream of going. The Party, behind the scenes, +works overtime stuffing propaganda into envelopes, passing out cards, +drumming up enthusiasm. + +The results are often amazing. William Z. Foster in one of his books +boasts that in Cleveland, Ohio, “A. Krchmarek, Communist candidate for +the school board, received 64,213 votes,” while in California, “the +well-known Communist, Bernadette Doyle, polled the big total of 613,670 +votes on a nonpartisan ticket as candidate for Superintendent of Public +Schools.” Krchmarek and Doyle both ran on independent, nonpartisan +tickets and were not identified on the ballot as communists. In another +instance a Party member, also running in a concealed capacity, failed by +only a few votes to be elected a city official. He was supported by two +anticommunist newspapers that had no way of knowing his Party background. + +This is the communist-front movement. Its strength rests on deceit and +its ability to attract the support of noncommunists. + +Fronts, however, can be detected. You, as an alert citizen, can do much +to weaken their influence. Here are a few tests: + + 1. Does the organization espouse the cause of Soviet Russia? + Does it shift when the Party line shifts? + + 2. Does the organization feature as speakers at its meetings + known communists or sympathizers? + + 3. Does the organization sponsor causes, campaigns, literature, + petitions, or other activities sponsored by the Party or other + front organizations? + + 4. Is the organization used as a sounding board by, or is it + endorsed by, communist-controlled labor unions? + + 5. Does its literature follow the communist line or is it + printed by the communist press? + + 6. Does the organization receive consistent favorable mention + in communist publications? + + 7. Does the organization represent itself to be nonpartisan, + yet engage in political activities and consistently advocate + causes favored by the communists? Does it denounce both + fascists and communists? + + 8. Does the organization denounce American foreign policy while + always lauding Soviet policy? + + 9. Does the organization utilize communist double talk by + referring to Soviet-dominated countries as democracies, + complaining that the United States is imperialistic, and + constantly denouncing monopoly-capital? + + 10. Have outstanding leaders in public life openly renounced + affiliation with the organization? + + 11. Does the organization, if espousing liberal, progressive + causes, attract well-known, honest, patriotic liberals, or does + it denounce well-known liberals? + + 12. Does the organization consistently consider matters not + directly related to its avowed purposes and objectives? + +These are some ways, direct and indirect, of the above-ground Communist +Party, which is working against all of us. But this is only one arm of a +gigantic pincer. The other is underground. + + + + +18. + +_Communism and Minorities_ + + +The Communist Party from its very inception has held itself out as +the “vanguard of the working class,” and as such has sought to assume +the role of protector and champion of minorities. It directs special +attention, among others, to Negroes and nationality groups. Actually the +vast majority of Negroes and members of foreign-language groups have +rejected communism for what it is: a heartless, totalitarian way of life +which completely disregards the dignity of man. + +In the case of the Negro minority the Comintern began in 1928 to +lay down a specific Party line for the guidance of comrades in the +United States. According to Comintern instructions, Negroes were to be +considered as an “oppressed race.” The Party was told to carry on a +struggle “for equal rights,” but “in the South ... the main Communist +slogan must be: _The Right of Self-Determination of the Negroes in the +Black Belt_.” + +Communist leaders, faithfully following Moscow’s instructions, promptly +started a campaign of agitation. In nominating James W. Ford, a Negro, to +run for Vice-President of the United States on the Communist Party ticket +in 1932, with presidential candidate William Z. Foster, C. A. Hathaway, +then a member of the Party’s Election Campaign National Committee, +reiterated instructions received in a 1930 Comintern resolution: + + In the first place, our demand is that the land of the Southern + white landlords ... be confiscated and turned over to the + Negroes.... + + Secondly, we propose to break up the present artificial + state boundaries ... and to establish the state unity of + the territory known as the “Black Belt,” where the Negroes + constitute the overwhelming majority of the population. + + Thirdly, in this territory, we demand that the Negroes be given + the complete right of self-determination; _the right to set + up their own government_ in this territory and the right to + separate, if _they_ wish, from the United States. + +Hence, “equal rights” and “self-determination” in the Black Belt became +the Party’s chief slogans for Negroes. By “self-determination” the Party +meant what Stalin had said: “... the right of the oppressed peoples of +the dependent countries and colonies to complete secession, as the right +of nations to independent existence as states.” + +As for the “Black Belt,” or as one article termed it, the “new Negro +Republic,” the communists have given various descriptions. In 1948 they +described the Belt as extending through twelve Southern states: “Heading +down from its eastern point in Virginia’s tidewater section, it cuts a +strip through North Carolina, embraces nearly all of South Carolina, +cuts into Florida, passes through lower and central Georgia and Alabama, +engulfs Mississippi and the Louisiana Delta, wedges into eastern Texas +and Southwest Tennessee, and has its western anchor in southern Arkansas.” + +By 1952 the communist concept of the Black Belt had been narrowed to “at +least five Southeastern states, with port outlets at Charleston on the +Atlantic and Mobile on the Gulf, encompassing the bulk of Mississippi, +and a good section of South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.” + +As we know from cumulative evidence, the Party’s position toward Negroes +is determined not by concern for their welfare but obedience to Soviet +foreign policy. As World War II approached, for example, the Party +switched its tactics regarding “self-determination” in the Black Belt. +Instead of calling for the immediate and revolutionary overthrow of white +landlords, as the Comintern had originally instructed, the Party now +switched these demands to a purely theoretical and propaganda level: “... +It is clear that the Negro masses are not yet ready to carry through the +revolution which would make possible the right to self-determination.” +Why the shift? To satisfy the Party’s united-front program, which +demanded that the Party work harmoniously with other groups to strengthen +the Soviet Union. + +The World War II period found the Party cynically abandoning any alleged +struggle for Negro rights. The aim was to help not Negroes but Moscow. +“When we fought for the right of Negro workers to enter industries we +often fought for such jobs mainly in the interest of the war effort.” +Earl Browder in 1945 admitted that as early as 1942 the Party had adopted +the theory that “... the struggle for Negro rights must be postponed +until after the war....” The Negro, in communist eyes, was a mere pawn, +to be manipulated for the attainment of Party aims. + +It became obvious that the Party, despite great efforts, had failed to +win over even a significant minority of Negroes. Negroes resented the +Party’s severe criticism of Negro clergymen who had been vigorously +denouncing communism. Earlier the Party had been unable adequately to +justify Russia’s aid to Italy in its invasion of Ethiopia. American +Negroes had realized that the Party was a fraud and a deception and that +it was willing to betray the Negro to better serve Soviet Russia. + +In early 1956 the Party decided to modify its advocacy of +“self-determination,” realizing that Negro opposition to communism was +growing. In making this change, communists said they would still consider +the Negroes as constituting a national as well as a racial minority. + +Eugene Dennis, resuming his old post as General Secretary of the +Communist Party (in 1956) after serving a prison term for violation of +the Smith Act, said: + + In re-appraising our position on self-determination in the + Black Belt, our Party should emphasize, as never before, that + the struggle for Negro rights and freedom, north and south + of the Mason-Dixon line, has emerged as a general, national + democratic task, upon the solution of which depends the + democratic and social advance of the whole nation, particularly + of the workers and farmers. + +The Party’s claim that it is working for Negro rights is a deception and +a fraud. The Party’s sole interest, as most American Negroes know, is +to hoodwink the Negro, to exploit him and use him as a tool to build a +communist America. + +The Party has made vigorous efforts to infiltrate the National +Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This +organization in 1950 authorized its board of directors to revoke the +charter of any chapter found to be communist-controlled. Nevertheless the +Party has tried various infiltration tactics: + + —In Philadelphia, the Party secured NAACP applications and + instructed Party members to join. + + —In Louisiana, the Party’s District Organizer instructed all + Negro Party members to join the NAACP and urge the creation + of a youth organization, and to form committees to encourage + Negroes to register to vote. + + —In Gary, Indiana, a Party member, also an NAACP member, + promoted the signing of petitions to pass a city ordinance. + + —In Cincinnati, a Party Organizer instructed that Party members + call the NAACP and urge the holding of a city-wide mass + meeting. When calling, they should claim to be members of the + NAACP. + +The NAACP’s national leadership has vigorously denounced communist +attempts at infiltration. In 1956, when the NAACP and other organizations +sponsored a National Conference on Civil Rights in Washington, the Party +attempted to “move in,” and started promoting the conference. The NAACP +countered by screening the delegates. + +Similarly, in 1957, in the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, +the Party again attempted to move in and tried to exploit the pilgrimage +as a rallying point for unity. NAACP leaders publicly told the +communists that they were not welcome, and steps were taken to keep them +off the platform. One outstanding Negro leader even tried to cancel +the pilgrimage to prevent communists from propagandizing the event. +Concerning Paul Robeson, who has long fronted for the communists, he +stated: “... the boat is waiting to take him to Russia....” He added that +he would raise the necessary funds to defray expenses. In Philadelphia, +a Negro clergyman told the Baptist Ministers Conference that the Negro +people did not want the communists interfering with their problems. + +One of the most effective anticommunist measures I have heard of is +the following: The NAACP had a meeting in Norfolk, Virginia, presided +over by a clergyman. The minister opened the meeting with the simple +statement that if any members of the Communist Party were present they +would be excused. Silence ensued, with no person leaving. Then the +chairman, starting with the front row, asked each individual if he were +a communist. All entered denials until he got to the back of the room, +where the state organizer for the Communist Party was sitting with a +white woman. When asked the question, he tried to evade, but the minister +pinned him down. The state organizer then stated that he did not think +it was proper to ask such a question. The minister calmly replied, “You +are excused,” and the couple left. + +The Communist Party has stated: “The Negro race must understand that +capitalism means racial oppression and Communism means social and racial +equality.” Many Negroes, however, have learned by bitter experience how +fraudulent and deceitful communists are. For example, Richard Wright, the +Negro novelist, tells in the book, _The God That Failed_, why he rebelled +against communist thought control. In describing how at the time he +left the Party he was assaulted on a Chicago street, he wrote, “I could +not quite believe what had happened, even though my hands were smarting +and bleeding. I had suffered a public, physical assault by two white +Communists with black Communists looking on.” + +In Buffalo, New York, at a Party meeting, a Negro comrade stated that +many Negroes felt they were joining a union when they were recruited +into the Party. The comrade, however, was stopped at this point and not +permitted to speak further. In many cases Negroes have been recruited +by deceptive methods with the hope that once in the Party they would +be converted to communism. In one New York State club the functionary +learned that thirty members thought they were joining a union rather than +the Communist Party. The matter was investigated, and it turned out that +a Negro woman had become overly enthusiastic in a membership drive. She +had not fully explained the nature of the organization being joined. + +In San Francisco, Party functionaries were concerned about a club where +Negro members predominated, although the club was actually controlled +by white members. It was ordered that the role of the white members be +decreased. The functionaries also instructed that the club be carefully +watched to prevent scandals, and warned that, while scandals must be +prevented, care should be exercised not to convey the impression that +white girls should not mix socially with Negroes or vice versa. Some of +the Negro wives were becoming suspicious, as it seemed they were being +pushed into the background after their husbands joined the Party. + +The Communist Party, while preaching “equality,” still differentiates +between races. For example, in the 1957 convention of the Party, an +accurate record of the delegates was kept. The breakdown was as follows: +209 males, 78 females; 54 Negroes, 2 Mexicans, and 1 Puerto Rican. +The hypocrisy of the Party was clearly shown when it required each +delegate to register his race, although for years the Party publicly has +campaigned to have the blank for “race” removed from all questionnaires. + +Communist leaders have been complaining bitterly about the turnover of +Negro members and of the Party’s inability to indoctrinate any large +number of Negroes. Information we have received follows a regular +pattern: Negroes are rejecting communism. + + A Negro in the Midwest became interested in the Party because + it claimed that Negroes were treated as equals. Later he was + unjustly accused of consorting with a white non-Party member. + He quit. + + * * * * * + + A Negro in Illinois started going to Party social functions + and became impressed with communist talk of “equality.” But + when he attended more advanced meetings and heard the United + States constantly denounced, he came to the conclusion that the + communists were under the domination of Russia. He left the + Party. + + * * * * * + + A Negro woman, recruited in Chicago, was rapidly promoted by + the Party. Then she noticed an incident involving a Negro man + who got into difficulties on his job, but the Party refused to + support him. She concluded that the Party was interested in + neither trade unionism nor the welfare of Negroes. She quit. + + * * * * * + + A Negro in New York joined the Party because he felt it was + championing his race. After a period of Marxist instruction, + he was told to secure a job with a work gang at a pier and + to recruit other Negroes into the Party. He came to the + conclusion that the Party was not interested in him as a Negro + but only as a tool to recruit other Negroes. He quit. + + * * * * * + + A New England Negro also became interested in the Party when he + learned of its alleged interest in helping his race. But upon + becoming a member he discovered that the Party’s interest was + strictly vocal, and nothing concrete was done to help Negroes. + Moreover, he disliked the Party’s denunciation of God and + religion. He quit. + +As early as 1922 the Comintern approved a subsidy of 300,000 dollars for +propaganda among American Negroes. In 1925 the Soviets requested that a +group of Negroes be selected to come to Russia for training in propaganda +work. A dozen were recruited. One of these, returning to the United +States three years later, brought with him a draft for 75,000 dollars to +help pay for propaganda work among his race. + +One Negro later was designated to attend the Lenin School, and his +experience there further unmasked communist hypocrisy and the Party’s +true feelings toward the Negro. He went to Russia with a delegation of +students to enter the Lenin School. This young Negro, as he has since +related, then “believed that through Communism a better and fairer world +could be developed for all mankind.” + +He was troubled, however, by the communist position in urging Negro +“self-determination” and the implications of a “buffer” state in +this country being carved out of the so-called “Black Belt.” Almost +immediately after his arrival in Russia he “was told long stories of +political persecution” by the Negroes attending the Lenin School. He +was slow to give credence to these stories until he saw for himself: “I +found that Negroes were special objects of political exploitation. The +sacrifices and dirty work planned for the American Negro Communists as +spearheads for communizing the United States made it obvious that we were +considered only as pawns in a game where others would get the prize.” + +Becoming more outspoken and cynical about the communist program for +Negroes, he became the target of a slander campaign inside the Lenin +School. Finally this young American Negro was charged and tried before +a court-martial. He was guilty of disaffection. A few students, +sympathizing with his position, made a bold decision to report their +grievances to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Then things began +to happen. Classes in the American Section of the school were suspended. +Some of the instructors were disciplined. + +The young Negro explained that the Comintern ordered Earl Browder, +then Secretary of the Communist Party in the United States, to Moscow +immediately. Browder arrived and sought to smooth things over. Eventually +the young Negro returned to the United States, working for a while +as a Party functionary in Detroit. One of his last jobs was to make +preparations for the founding of the National Negro Congress. Then he +quit because he could no longer give aid to the communists “concentrating +on their most helpless, and whom they think to be, their most gullible +victims: the Negro.” + +The communists have created numerous fronts over the years in attempts to +attract Negroes. Once a front is discredited, it is allowed to die and a +new one created. + +The American Negro Labor Congress came into being in 1925, and in 1930 +its name was changed to the League of Struggle for Negro Rights. Within +six years it had ceased to exist. + +In 1935 the National Negro Congress was launched in Washington, D.C., +its chief purpose being to protect Negro rights. It started out as +noncommunist, and James W. Ford complained in 1936 that although “The +National Negro Congress did not adopt a Communist program ... we +Communists stand one hundred per cent behind it in its efforts to unite +the Negro people....” + +By 1940 communists had infiltrated the National Negro Congress to such an +extent that when its president, A. Philip Randolph, “warned the Congress +to stick to its principle and remain nonpartisan ...” the communists +staged a demonstration and walked out, leaving only a third of the +audience to finish hearing Randolph. This 1940 convention of the National +Negro Congress passed a resolution condemning the war as “imperialist,” +and drew from a communist writer the observation that the congress had +“only acted in accord with the fundamental interests of the Negro people.” + +In 1947 the National Negro Congress merged with the Civil Rights +Congress, an out-and-out communist front which has recently dissolved. + +The old International Labor Defense (ILD) also tried to influence the +American Negro, and came into conflict with the National Association for +the Advancement of Colored People as a result of the ILD’s communist +tactics in converting the Scottsboro (Alabama) Case into a vehicle for +communist propaganda. In this case nine Negro boys were indicted in 1931 +on charges of having raped two white girls. + +After the Scottsboro boys were first convicted, the NAACP charged that +the defense “fell considerably short of perfection,” and then retained +the late famed Chicago criminal lawyer, Clarence Darrow, to represent +the boys. In 1931 the late Walter White, then head of the NAACP, said +the _Daily Worker_ accused another defense attorney, Stephen R. Roddy, +“... of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan, of having conspired with the +prosecution to electrocute the nine boys, of having been the inmate of +an insane asylum.” According to White, the communists also charged the +NAACP “as being ‘in league with the lyncher-bosses of the South,’ as +plotters to ‘murder the Scottsboro martyrs,’ as sycophantic ‘tools of the +capitalists.’” The NAACP withdrew from the case, recognizing that the +Communist Party was interested only in promoting “Red Fascism” in America. + +George S. Schuyler, an editor of the _Pittsburgh Courier_, reflected +the consensus of American Negroes when he concluded, “... The record +shows that where and when the Communists seemed to be fighting for Negro +rights, their object was simply to strengthen the hand of Russia.” + +In similar fashion the Communist Party has long considered +foreign-language groups in the United States fertile fields for +infiltration. Since many of the early comrades were foreign-born, +agitation among national groups became a natural outlet for Party +activity. In recent years the Nationality Groups Commission has +coordinated agitation in this field. + +The Party has attempted to use national groups, among other things, +to exert pressure for changes in American foreign policy. Pressure +campaigns are organized, petitions circulated, testimonials secured, +hoping to make the government believe that a national group, such as the +Italians, Hungarians, or Slovaks, supports the line desired by the Party. +Party-controlled newspapers grind out accompanying propaganda. + +Party fronts have been particularly active among national groups. The +communists always make strenuous efforts to infiltrate and capture +fraternal insurance societies serving national groups. As we have seen, +such tactics give the Party a ready base, along with somebody else’s +money, for further agitation. The Party, moreover, always likes to +pose as the “protector” of national cultures. Hence, it often sponsors +nationality bazaars, picnics, and dances, where costumes from native +lands are worn and native music is played. After the Soviet conquest of +Eastern Europe, however, the Party had increasing difficulty trying to +peddle the “glories” of communism. Too much information was received from +the old homelands describing true conditions behind the Iron Curtain. + +Minority groups, like other patriotic organizations, have realized that +no communist-created Utopia can compete with the American way of life. +The ability of the communists to propagate their false doctrines is a +challenge to our educational process. We need to counter communism by +making the hopes and aspirations of the American ideal a reality for all +to enjoy. + + + + +19. + +_The Communist Attack on Judaism_ + + +The communist propaganda machine with its tactics of infiltration and +division has long fostered the false claim of widespread influence in the +Jewish communities of America. One of the most malicious myths that has +developed in the United States is that persons of the Jewish faith and +communists have something in common. The people who gave the world the +concept of our monotheistic God and the Ten Commandments cannot remain +Jews and follow the atheism of Karl Marx and the deceit of the communist +movement. + +It is a matter of record that numerous Communist Party leaders call +themselves Jews and claim a Jewish origin. This does not, however, make +them Jews, any more than William Z. Foster’s Catholic background and Earl +Browder’s Protestant background give them any standing in present-day +Catholic and Protestant communities in the United States. + +One highly placed Party leader recently pointed out that it was necessary +for communists working in Jewish groups to represent themselves as Jews. +This, of course, is a tactical maneuver. Such a technique, the leader +urged, “can be duplicated.” + +Typical of communist claims which have led to the false myth indicating +that Jews have an affinity for communism are the remarks of Paul Novick, +the editor of the _Morning Freiheit_, a communist paper published in +Yiddish in New York City. Novick said: “The development of Yiddish +literature in the United States went hand-in-hand with the growth of the +Socialist movement at the beginning of this century and of the Communist +Party after the October Revolution.” On the same occasion Novick then +went on to brand the followers of Judaism for “... degeneration sown +among the Jews by reaction....” and then condemned their opposition to +“... the progressive movement, against the Soviet Union and against +Communism....” Novick revealed his true loyalties in December, 1956, +in an article in the _Morning Freiheit_ after the display of Soviet +brutality in Hungary with the apology that there was an anti-Semitic +and fascist element in the Hungarian uprising, and insisted that, “... +we must not only approve the Soviet actions in Hungary, but really +appreciate it!” + +The widely read Jewish newspaper, _Jewish Daily Forward_, on February +16, 1957, effectively identified Novick in a story captioned “Editor +of Communist ‘Freiheit’ Is Bitter Enemy of the Jewish People.” Here it +was asserted that after the Hitler-Stalin pact the _Freiheit_ justified +and praised it, which caused writers to leave and Novick made sure that +those who remained wrote without error following the pro-Hitler line. The +newspaper further revealed that Novick had gone out of his way to prove +that the communist dictators in Czechoslovakia were correct in arresting +Rudolph Slansky (and thirteen former communist leaders, eleven of whom +were Jews) and that the arrested Moscow Jewish doctors were involved in +a conspiracy to poison Stalin. The _Jewish Daily Forward_ article flatly +said that “anti-Semitic poison just poured out” of Novick. + +One Party member, after having been in the Party for twenty-five years +and having held high Party offices, explained to our agents that when he +joined the Party he had renounced the existence of God, that he had tried +to impose on others his atheistic views, and that he was “not a religious +Jew.” He flatly said that most Party members he knew who claimed to be +Jews did not follow their religion; they did not attend the synagogue, +although they did not work on religious holidays; and the comrades who +claimed to be Jews took no part in organized Jewish religious activities. + +Some of the most effective opposition to communism in the United States +has come from Jewish organizations such as B’nai B’rith, the American +Jewish Committee, the American Jewish League Against Communism, the +Anti-Defamation League, and a host of other Jewish groups. + +The reasons for the extensive activities of the Communist Party in +seeking to infiltrate and make extravagant claims for its work in some +Jewish organizations and those of other minority groups are readily +apparent. In the Soviet Union, the proving ground for Marxism-Leninism, +communists are confronted with a minority problem of staggering +proportions. Only 58 per cent of the population in the Soviet Union is +Russian whereas 42 per cent is non-Russian and consists of 168 national +minorities. + +The Bolsheviks prior to 1917 sought to win support from minorities +by defending their rights and developing such propaganda come-ons as +“self-determination of nations,” “national cultural autonomy,” and so on. +Once in power, the communists soon forgot their promises but continued to +pay lip service to minority rights. The Soviet Union still retains the +“legal fiction” that it is a voluntary federation of union republics, +each of which is free to secede if it wishes. In fact, Article 17 of the +Soviet Constitution of 1936 states, “The right freely to secede from the +USSR is reserved to each constituent republic.” No “republic,” however, +has ever tried to secede, and the possibility is remote indeed, as long +as the Red army responds to the will of the dictators in the Kremlin as +it did in Hungary. + +A more important reason for communist interest in minorities in the +United States is, of course, the opportunities they provide for +exploitation and propaganda. The large number of communist fronts using +the word “Jewish,” as well as publications that the communists dominate, +is for the obvious purpose of conveying a false impression of strength +among those who embrace the Jewish faith. This also accounts in part for +the literary interest communists devote to the problems of Jews. Prior +to issuing the _Communist Manifesto_, Karl Marx, the atheist, wrote a +treatise called, “On the Jewish Question” which sets forth his views +regarding Judaism and Jewish culture. + +From that time to this in dealing with those of the Jewish faith, the +communists invariably do so in terms of discussing “the Jewish question.” +In fact, by this propaganda technique the communists deliberately +try to make the Jews a “problem,” which is denied by the record of +good citizenship and civic responsibility of adherents of Judaism in +the United States. As an example: The American Jewish League Against +Communism stated as early as 1948 that “Soviet Russia’s million and +a half Jews are the forgotten people of the world.” The League lists +among its proudest achievements that “... it was the first American +organization to expose and document the communist anti-Jewish policies.” + +A true follower of the Jewish faith, like those of other religions, +cannot embrace communism. Marxism-Leninism is irrevocably opposed to all +religious beliefs and all forms of worship, whether they be Catholic, +Protestant, Jewish, or Moslem. One of Lenin’s basic teachings is, “We +must combat religion—this is the A.B.C. of _all_ materialism, and +consequently of Marxism.... The Marxist must be a materialist, i.e., an +enemy of religion....” + +In theory and practice the communists make no distinction among any of +the world’s greater religions, as the leading Soviet crusader against +religion, E. Yaroslavsky, makes clear: + + ... the priests of every cult have their own way of deluding + the masses: the Jewish rabbi, the Roman Catholic priest, + the Russian Orthodox priest, the Mohammedan mullah, the + Evangelist, Baptist and other ministers of religion, each + has his own way of fooling the people.... As to differences + between one religion and another, they are of little, if any, + consequence.... + +If there was ever any doubt that the communists were even lukewarm toward +the Jewish faith, it was resolved by Yaroslavsky, onetime head of the +League of Militant Atheists in the Soviet Union, who said: + + The Jewish synagogues were not granted any privileges + whatsoever by the Russian state, but they were fully supported + by the Jewish bourgeoisie. The Jewish rabbinate, like its + sister priestcrafts, drew close to the side of the rich + because the Jewish church had also incorporated in its _credo_ + the justification of the existence of exploiting classes in + society.... + +Karl Marx described Judaism as “anti-social” and an expression of Jewish +“egoism.” Marx, better than any other communist leader, illustrates the +gulf between Jewish tradition and communism. He could not be loyal to +both, so in accepting the communist ideal, he was not content to reject +Jewish tradition; he had to malign it and seek to destroy it with such +bitterness as: “Money is the jealous God of Israel, by the side of which +no other god may exist.... Exchange is the Jew’s real God.” + +The unrestrained emotional outbursts of Hitler against the Jews were +reminiscent of the Marxian tirades against Judaism. + +The Marxian denunciation of Judaism is not limited to invective. From +the earliest days when communism came to power in the Soviet Union, +communists have conducted a systematic campaign to cripple and destroy +organized Judaism. On January 23, 1918, the Soviets issued a sweeping +decree “On the Separation of the Church from the State, and of the School +from the Church.” All church property was nationalized; churches were +denied rights of legal recourse; the teaching of religion was banned +in public and private schools; the right of people to attend religious +services on workdays was revoked; and records of births, marriages, and +deaths were taken from the churches and put under the exclusive control +of civil authorities. + +While religious services were still allowed, the clergy was reduced +to the status of second-class citizenship; a campaign of terror was +launched leading to the arrest and imprisonment or execution of priests, +rabbis, ministers, and other church leaders on such vague charges +as “counter-revolutionary activity” or “crimes against the people.” +Physical destruction of church property was conveniently explained as the +“spontaneous” acts of “aroused” peasants and workers to conceal the real +perpetrators, Soviet officialdom. + +The main target, of course, was the Orthodox Church, which had long been +the state church of Russia; but all other faiths suffered, including +that of the Jews. The reports of refugees as compiled by Wladyslaw Kania +in the book, _Bolshevism and Religion_, published by the Polish Library +in New York City in 1946, prove the hypocrisy of the Soviet claim of +minority protection with accounts as follows: + + The Jews are morally persecuted, the young Jewish population is + being brought up in un-religious ways.... + + * * * * * + + The Jews in Russia are living only on the memories of the happy + past.... + + * * * * * + + ... during the Jewish feast Purim ... the Jews, Soviet + citizens, assembled for evening prayer. One of the neighbors + reported them to the NKVD. The premises were raided and the + host arrested and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. + + * * * * * + + The rabbis have been deported; “kosher” meat, etc., though + promised, does not exist.... The synagogues and houses of + worship have been closed.... + +General Walter Bedell Smith, after his three years as Ambassador to the +Soviet Union, reported that in June, 1948, about thirty churches were +open in Moscow, which included one Jewish synagogue for an estimated +300,000 Jews. During World War II General Smith reported, “But two +religions—the Jewish and the Roman Catholic—did not gain even temporary +benefits from the wartime policy of greater religious tolerance; in fact, +on balance, it is probably safe to say that attacks upon them have been +stepped up rather than relaxed in recent years.” + +Communist reports on the state of Jews in the Soviet Union make little +reference to Judaism as practiced. For example, the forty-seven-page +communist propaganda pamphlet, written by Paul Novick and J. M. Budish, +entitled _Jews in the Soviet Union_, makes only this single reference to +Judaism: + + Then, there are Jewish religious activities. I visited the main + synagogue in Moscow during Yom Kippur. It was over-crowded, + with people outside listening to the cantor through loud + speakers.... I visited synagogues in Kiev, Vilna, Berditchev, + Zhytomir. There are about 300 organized religious communities + in the U.S.S.R.... + +The accuracy of this report is highly questionable, bearing in mind the +cold, systematic communist program of extinguishing religion. Among the +tactics employed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union has been +the liquidation of the traditional Jewish school system, including the +primary school (Hedder), the secondary schools (the Talmud Torah), and +the rabbinical school (the Jeshiva). Thus, when the present generation of +Soviet Jews passes on, there will be no more rabbis. + +This attack on Judaism becomes apparent when the role of the rabbi +is considered. He is not merely a preacher; he is the teacher of +Jewish moral law, the ritualistic laws governing the home, family, and +individual; he presides at such religious ceremonies as the marriage, +sits in ritualistic courts and supervises circumcisions and the +preparation of kosher meat. Hence, in abolishing the rabbinical schools, +the Soviets are gradually seeking the extinction of Judaism without a +pogrom. Judaism cannot exist unless Hebrew is taught so that rabbis can +study the Torah and Talmud in the original language in which they were +written. + +Communist practice and communist theory are in direct conflict. +Communism, as we have seen, is essentially an international class +movement and therefore regards national loyalty, other than communist +loyalty, as a potential menace. The communists use “national rights” as a +propaganda device and support national movements only when it serves the +interests of the Soviet regime. + +The communist propaganda line directed to Jewish people follows three +general themes: + + 1. The Soviet Union offers the Jewish people complete freedom. + As one apologist put it: “There is one spot on the earth where + the Jewish people are not under increasing pressure, one spot + where the Jews have full equality.... That is the socialist + Soviet Union.” + + 2. The Soviets have created a national homeland for Russian + Jews in the Jewish autonomous region of Birobidzhan (or + Birobidjan), where they claim Jewish culture is flourishing. + + 3. In World War II the U.S.S.R. saved thousands of Jews from + certain death from the Nazis. + +Standing by themselves, these claims admittedly make an impressive +appeal. If true, they would even justify the extravagant claim of +Alexander Bittelman, who recently was released from prison upon +completing a federal sentence for conspiring to advocate the overthrow +of the government of the United States by force and violence. Bittelman, +long one of the chief interpreters of communism to the Jewish people, +has described the Soviet Union as the “saviour of the Jewish people.” +The record, however, demolishes this propaganda line as a collection of +half-truths, exaggerations, and outright deceptions. + +At best, Soviet tolerance toward Jewish culture was never anything more +than a temporary political tactic. And even then the Soviet claims were +contemporaneous with the 1917 revolution, when the communists were +seeking support from all quarters. Stalin’s _Marxism and the National +Question_, the acknowledged communist classic on the subject, though +consisting of 222 pages, contains only twenty pages written after 1927, +with the most important single part having been written in 1913. By the +late 1930’s alleged concessions to the cultures of the various minority +groups gave way to a policy of forcible denationalization rivaling the +brutal “Russification” tactics of the Czars. + +To illustrate: In 1917 there were a total of forty-nine Yiddish or Hebrew +newspapers in the Soviet Union. By 1921 these had increased to sixty-two; +but no less than fifty were communist-controlled, while the forty-nine +not under communist control in 1917 had dwindled to twelve in 1921. + +Jewish literature suffered a similar fate. From 1928 to 1933 books +published in Yiddish rose from 238 to 668, but there was a marked decline +in books dealing with Jewish history and tradition. In 1932 there were +thirty-six books in Yiddish classified as history—of these, sixteen were +memoirs chiefly of old Bolsheviks; six were studies on the Communist +International; six dealt with the revolution and history of the Communist +Party; five consisted of speeches of Stalin and other communist leaders; +and only three actually dealt with matters pertaining to Jewish culture. +These related to the labor movement and were an attempt to rewrite +history to conform with Marxist-Leninist doctrine. + +The Soviet purge trials of 1936-37 should have made clear to the world +the communist objective mercilessly to crush the leadership of any +minority groups whose cultural resurgence conflicted with the advance +of Marxism-Leninism. To cite an example: of the ten representatives of +minority groups who served on the draft committee for the 1936 Soviet +constitution, only one was alive at the end of 1937. The other nine were +branded as “spies,” “enemies of the people,” and were shot, committed +suicide, or had disappeared. + +The sad fate of the Jewish school system in the Ukraine proves the lie +to the Soviet propaganda claim of furthering Jewish culture. In 1925, +government reports reflected a total of 39,474 students in the Ukrainian +schools where Yiddish was the language of instruction. In 1931 the number +of such students reached its peak of 90,000. By 1940 this figure had +declined to 50,000, and the Jewish schools were completely suppressed +when the Nazis took over the Ukraine in World War II. Since the war the +efforts of Jewish educators to have the Soviet government construct new +schools have apparently failed. + +One of the most crippling communist attacks on Jewish culture has been +prohibition of the use of Hebrew, the traditional language of Judaism. +As a tactic the Soviets launched a program of “compulsory Yiddishizing” +to destroy the influence of Hebrew among Russian Jews. Yiddish is a +jargon based on a German dialect. It is unrelated to Hebrew. Many Jews, +particularly Asiatic and Mediterranean Jews, do not know it at all. A +similar program of suppression of Jewish institutions shifted to the +satellites after World War II, where Jewish schools were abolished, +Jewish organizations banned, and even athletic clubs bearing Jewish names +were forced to change their names on twenty-four-hour notice. + +The second propaganda claim of the Soviets in establishing the Jewish +homeland of Birobidzhan should be closely analyzed. Solomon M. Schwarz, +in his exhaustive study, _The Jews in the Soviet Union_, exposes the +Soviet propaganda for the falsehood that it is. The so-called Jewish +homeland was set up at a time when the threat of Japanese and Chinese +invasion of the U.S.S.R.’s Far Eastern frontier was not idle. Thus, the +Jewish homeland was conceived as a means of populating the vast spaces in +the Far East of Russia, and also provided a convenient place to settle +Jews not wanted in other parts of Russia. + +By 1933 the Soviets envisioned a population of 60,000 Jews in +Birobidzhan. During its first six years 19,635 Jews arrived, while 11,450 +left, leaving a net gain of only 8185. By 1939, after eleven years, the +Soviet Jewish homeland could claim no more than 30,000 Jews and by 1951 +around 40,000 which was a small community surrounded by Asiatic peoples +completely separated from the mainstream of Jewish life. Furthermore, it +is in the maritime provinces of Siberia, where the climate is unsuitable +for those accustomed to European life. + +The third communist propaganda claim, that of rescuing Jews from Nazi +extinction, is also a deception. In the first place, for two years prior +to the Nazi invasion of Russia, when Moscow was allied with Berlin, +_there is no record of any Soviet protest against the Nazi slaughter +of Jews_, so far as is known. The good-neighbor policy between the +communists and the Nazis, initiated by the Stalin-Hitler pact, is clearly +established by the following report sent by the German Ambassador to +Moscow to the German Foreign Office, where it came to light after the +war: “... The Soviet Government is doing everything to change the +attitude of the population here toward Germany. The press is as though it +had been transformed....” + +Later the Foreign Office was advised that: + + ... the Soviet Government has always previously been able in a + masterly fashion to influence the attitude of the population in + the direction which it has desired, and it is not being sparing + this time either of the necessary propaganda. + +Then, too, the silence of the Soviet leaders on the outbreaks of Nazi +anti-Semitism completely misled Eastern European Jews as to the real +character of the Nazi threat and hence, some 2,000,000 Russian and +Eastern European Jews made no attempt to escape the Nazis during the +early months of the German invasion of Russia. And even after the Nazi +onslaught, there was a shocking failure on the part of the Soviets to +reveal Nazi atrocities against the Jews. + +For example, the Soviet government in 1942 condemned the “bloodthirsty, +criminal plans of the fascists” aimed at exterminating Russians, +Ukrainians, Byelorussians, and “other peoples” of the Soviet Union, with +no direct reference to the Jews. As late as 1945 the Soviets in a report +on the German concentration camp at Auschwitz (Oswiecim), where more than +4,000,000 persons were exterminated, did not even use the word “Jew,” +although they constituted the majority of those whose lives were so +brutally taken. + +Not only did the communists in the Soviet Union fail to make any special +effort to save Jewish people during the war, they showed no concern over +their fate. + +If further evidence is necessary to prove the falsity of communist +propaganda directed toward the Jewish people, it is only necessary +to look at the communist campaigns against Zionism. The communist +propagandist, Paul Novick, reflected the communist line both in the +Soviet Union and the United States when he wrote: + + Ever since its inception Zionism has been an instrument of the + Jewish bourgeoisie to hamper the struggle of the Jewish masses + ... a means of diverting the attention of the Jewish workers + from the class struggle and of keeping them separated from the + progressive forces of other nationalities.... + +In the Soviet Union, Zionism is ruthlessly suppressed. In the United +States communists have a more complex problem and avoid direct public +attacks on the Zionist movement, so as not to alienate that large section +of Jewish people who favor Zionism. The communist attacks are more subtle +and are directed essentially at individual Zionist leaders. The aim, of +course, is to discredit the Zionist movement without antagonizing its +rank-and-file members. The Party line changes from time to time when +it is expedient, but the communist objective of eventually destroying +Zionist influence among the Jewish people, without alienating its +rank-and-file members, has never changed. + +Khrushchev more recently reiterated the Party line against the Zionist +movement when he was asked what the Soviet Union would do if the Zionists +settled in Soviet territory and demanded a state of their own. He replied +with communist contempt, “We have thrown them out of our country.” + +Communist Party leaders in the United States exhibited some concern +over the Soviet campaign against Jews which was brought to light by +an anti-Zionist article in _Pravda_ on September 21, 1948, by Ilya +Ehrenburg, which referred to the state of Israel as a “bourgeois +country.” This article declared that in Russia there was no artificial +division between Jews and their Russian comrades but that Jews led lives +in common with other peoples of Russia. The proper solution to the +“Jewish problem,” according to Ehrenburg’s article, is the abolishment of +“nationalism” among Jews and the integration of Jews into the existing +society rather than their having a distinct life apart from other people. + +It is known that when the information in the Ehrenburg article reached +the United States, there were considerable concern and confusion in the +offices of the _Morning Freiheit_ as to whether the article represented +a fixed Soviet policy. The fact that _Pravda_ is under Soviet Communist +Party control causes Party leaders in this country to give careful +consideration to anything it publishes. The matter was resolved by +directing an inquiry to Itzik Feffer, a friend of Stalin in Moscow, +to secure the correct Soviet line on the Jewish question. The report +came back to the United States that Ehrenburg merely was reflecting his +own ideas, along with some of the younger communists of Jewish origin, +and did not represent the correct policy of the Soviet Union. The then +foreign editor of the _Morning Freiheit_, Moise Katz, in an article +appearing in the January, 1949, issue of _Yiddishe Kultur_ criticized the +ideas appearing in the Ehrenburg article. + +Events, however, were to prove the correctness of Ehrenburg’s +statements, which became the fixed policy of the Soviet Union, and the +Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, of which Itzik Feffer was a member, was +abolished. In the meantime the National Committee of the Communist Party +intervened and, according to reports, straightened out the _Morning +Freiheit_ on the new Soviet line. A letter of apology over the signature +of Moise Katz then appeared in the _Freiheit_ on March 29, 1949. This +incident was discussed in communist circles and the word leaked out +that three writers were discharged from the _Freiheit_ for “bourgeois +nationalism.” + +When Khrushchev denounced Stalin at the Twentieth Congress of the +Communist Party of the Soviet Union in Moscow in February, 1956, news +of the long-pent-up acts of oppression against Jews in the Soviet Union +began to leak out. It is, of course, significant that Khrushchev made no +mention of the mistreatment of the Jews in his exposure of Stalin, whom +he had so loyally served over the years. + +Within a few weeks, as noted in Chapter 3, the disclosures of +anti-Semitism came in the Warsaw, Poland, Yiddish-language communist +newspaper _Folks-Shtimme_ on April 4, 1956, regarding the Soviet purges +of Jewish leaders and culture under Stalin. Later, on April 13, 1956, the +_Daily Worker_ expressed regrets and then admitted “... we were too prone +to accept the explanation of why Jewish culture had disappeared in the +Soviet Union in the late 1940s.” With the agility of “whirling dervishes” +the communists then sought to develop a justification for the Soviet +communist leaders’ action. + +World public opinion over the Soviet communist leaders’ injustices +mounted and as Khrushchev turned on the “smiles” and started visiting +other countries, he was confronted with the accusation of anti-Semitism +in Russia. + +In England, Khrushchev characterized “anti-Semitism” as “nonsense” to +which he would not listen. To a French delegation he protested that he +was not anti-Semitic but that the Yiddish language is fading away in +Russia as the Jews in the Soviet Union are learning to speak Russian. +A new low in deception was reached when Khrushchev claimed that, in +the early years of the revolution, “Jews occupied a disproportionately +large number of high Soviet positions because the country had few +trained people.” He then asserted that the Kremlin had received protests +from “the various Soviet Republics that too many Jews held desirable +positions.” The New York _Times_ story on June 10, 1956, then reported +that Khrushchev “... reportedly pressed Lazar M. Kaganovich, only +high-ranking Soviet leader of Jewish origin, to confirm his statements, +which Mr. Kaganovich finally did, saying one word, ‘correct’....” And now +there are no top communist leaders in the Kremlin of Jewish origin since +Khrushchev ousted and denounced Kaganovich last summer. + +The president of B’nai B’rith, Philip M. Klutznick, answered the +communist propaganda claims when he made the factual observation that +only in Soviet Russia and its satellites is “Jewish life languishing and +approaching extinction.” + +The Communist Party of the United States at its February, 1957, +convention sought to hoodwink the American public by a series of +statements to the press of how it had declared its independence from +Moscow. This deceit was established in no unmistakable terms by the +handling of a resolution dealing with anti-Semitism in Russia. The +resolution was submitted by Professor Morris U. Schappes in typical +communist language: “Resolution: On Jewish question, some aspects.” + +The resolution stated: “This matter concerns us as Communists in a +country which includes 5,000,000 Jews.” It then points out, + + Since the Jewish question is international in scope, we + communists must be alert to the problem and its world-wide + aspects. The Jewish question is a specific question that + requires specific attention.... The liquidation of the + outstanding Yiddish writers and Jewish communal and political + leaders, and the snuffing out of organized Jewish cultural life + have been known for some time.... + +He, of course, was referring to anti-Semitism in Russia. + +The resolution called for the creation of a Jewish Commission, a return +to Leninist policy, and a request “... to make this subject one for +fraternal discussion with the Communist Party in the Soviet Union,” +which, of course, negates the view of independence of the communists in +the United States. + +The resolution was soft-pedaled and disposed of, as was a similar +resolution dealing with Soviet terrorism in Hungary, by being referred +to the National Committee of the Party. _Pravda_, on February 16, 1957, +had this to say: “The 16th Convention of the Communist Party, USA, +confirmed the loyalty of the American communists to the principles of +Marxism-Leninism....” + +Party leaders, however, in the face of the overwhelming evidence of +communist hate for the followers of Moses, still are attempting to +deceive unsuspecting persons of Jewish origin and, as this is being +written, communist tacticians are at work on a program of infiltrating +Jewish groups by seeking for the answers to such questions as: + + —How to avoid the extremes of negating Israel and of accepting + its actions uncritically. + + —How to work in religious groups while keeping ourselves and + our children free of the religious doctrine of these groups. + + —How to avoid the extremes of taking on all issues and avoiding + all issues. + + —How to balance Jewish work with our interests as Marxists in + general trade union, minorities and people’s movements. + +The vigilant and patriotic members of Jewish organizations have +demonstrated their alertness to counteract the infiltration tactics in +Jewish institutions by communists who were born Jews. Where communist +infiltration tactics have succeeded in Jewish organizations, it has +been because of a failure on the part of leaders and members alike to be +vigilant and thwart the communist tactic of infiltration into the Jewish +community just as it has sought to infiltrate every other organization. + +A _Pravda_ editorial on July 6, 1956, should remove all doubts as to the +antipathy of communism to those who worship God regardless of their faith: + + As for our country the Communist Party has been and will be + the only master of the minds, and thoughts, the spokesman, + leader and organizer of the people in their entire struggle for + communism. + + + + +_Part VI_ + +THE COMMUNIST UNDERGROUND + + + + +20. + +_How the Underground Works_ + + +The communist above-ground, as we have seen, constantly seeks to +represent itself as a legitimate political organization working for +the best interests of America. When large segments of the people are +hoodwinked into believing this fraudulent claim, it becomes easier +for the Party to carry on its revolutionary propaganda through mass +agitation, infiltration, and fronts. Without some degree of public +acceptance, the Party is doomed to an isolated impotence. + +Communist tactics require that above-ground activities be pushed as far +as possible. However, when the Party begins to abuse its constitutional +privileges and the government takes steps to protect itself from outright +treason and subversion, more and more Party activities are shifted +underground, that is, to the illegal apparatus. As Lenin taught, the +Party must always have two levels, above-ground and underground. Both +must exist at the same time. One without the other is incomplete. + +In times of “nonprosecution”—that is, when “hostile” governments are not +attacking—the Party, like a submarine, will surface, carrying on the bulk +of its work above ground. But a portion (the underground) will always +stay submerged, concealing the Party’s illegal activities, such as aid +to Soviet espionage; endeavoring to place concealed members in sensitive +positions in government, education, and industry, maintaining clandestine +communication networks. + +In event of an emergency, this undercarriage quickly expands, providing +the Party with well-prepared and extensive undercover operations. Within +days, hundreds of above-ground comrades can be absorbed. The Party +submerges, the above-ground shrinks. + +The Party will submerge only as long and as deep as absolutely +necessary, always preferring surface operations (with a supporting +underground). That’s why it desperately fights all legislation curtailing +its activities. Only to prevent annihilation will it go completely +underground. This action reduces contact with the masses, wastes energy +on nonproductive security measures, and decreases effectiveness. Except +for outright liquidation, it is practically impossible to drive the Party +completely underground or completely above ground. + +As we saw in Chapters 4 and 5, the Party experienced two periods of +intensified underground activities: (1) shortly after its founding, and +(2) in the mid-1951 to mid-1955 period. Both were caused primarily by +prosecutive action of state and federal governments. + +To understand the underground we must realize that it is a maze of +undercover couriers, escape routes, hide-outs, and clandestine meetings. +It’s not the place for the beginner, the half-indoctrinated, or the +doubtful. Only the most loyal members are selected. These men and women +are carrying on the Party’s deceitful work away from the watchful eye (so +they hope) of the FBI and other governmental agencies. + +It was early in the morning. The taxi had been summoned to a number on +James Street. The driver looked. On the corner stood an attractive woman, +dressed in a polka-dotted blouse and navy blue skirt. From her shoulder +dangled a brown purse. + +“Take me to Elm and Cherry Streets,” she said, jumping into the cab. + +When the taxi arrived at the destination, the woman changed her mind. +“Take me to the Surplus Store,” she instructed. The driver complied, now +almost doubling back to where he had started. The woman, however, still +wasn’t satisfied. She asked to be taken to another location. There she +alighted. + +A few minutes later she hailed another cab and went straight to her +destination, a railroad station on the east side of town, some fifteen +miles away, even though she was then only a short distance from a +terminal where she could have caught the same train. + +This wasn’t the Case of the Woman Who Changed Her Mind, but the shift of +a Party underground leader to a new hide-out. Why the strange gyrations? +She was endeavoring to make certain she wasn’t being followed. + +In a northern state a scene similar to the Girl in the Polka-dotted +Blouse was being enacted. A woman with black curly hair, dressed in a +smart gray herringbone suit and wearing a large-brimmed hat, boarded a +southbound train. She carefully surveyed the passengers, then took a +seat near the rear. She was carrying on her left arm a blue tweed suit +and a hook-weave black coat. In her right hand she held a brown suitcase +trimmed in light tan. It was a long ride, all afternoon and night. Upon +arrival she sped to an address in an older section of town. A knock, the +door opened, and she disappeared inside. The woman was a high-ranking +Party leader reporting for a new underground assignment. + +These two women, neatly dressed and looking like ordinary travelers, were +but two of many hundreds involved in Party underground work from 1951 +to 1955. Many were away from home for months, even years, living under +assumed names in obscure rooms; moving under cover of darkness from one +city to another; scurrying along streets late at night; eating irregular +meals. Life in the underground for most is hard work, drudgery; not +romance, adventure, and fun. + +How are comrades chosen for underground work? + +As we have seen, only the most trusted and dedicated of Party members are +chosen. A study of the case histories of twenty-five top Party leaders +active in the underground during 1951-55 disclosed that all had been +in the communist movement for over twenty years. Their average age was +somewhat over forty. + +Party “loyalty” is determined by an elaborate “verification” system. A +prospect is compelled to execute a questionnaire asking for detailed +information about his family, former employment, education, Party +history. One questionnaire, for example, requested a member to analyze +the “political position” of relatives, and then asked, “Have you had any +extra-marital relations since you’ve been married? If so, with whom and +how often?” Many times, older comrades must vouch for the prospect. + +To enter the underground usually means simply disappearing quickly, +abruptly, without warning. Whispers float: “Where’s Gordon?” The answer: +“He’s gone under” or merely the telltale sign, a clenched fist with the +thumb pointed down. + +It was a Monday morning. Everybody came to work except one, a woman who +had been with the firm for many years. Nobody thought anything about it. +Probably she was sick. But the next day, the next week, the next month, +she didn’t return, although she had almost a hundred dollars in wages +coming to her. At her apartment it was the same story. She had quickly +moved out. Nobody knew where she had gone. + +She had entered the communist underground. + +These departures are carefully planned. Above-ground comrades will handle +any pending personal matters, such as storing the member’s furniture, +moving his family, caring for his car. Sometimes departures have been so +rapid that hot meals have been left on the table. + +Once underground, the member is made ready for assignment. This means, +first of all, assuming a new identity; that is, being made into “another +person.” As a general rule this involves the securing of a new name, +date, and place of birth, even changing physical appearance. One +functionary, for example, lost between thirty-five and forty pounds, +giving him a gaunt appearance. Others were told to gain weight. Still +another grew a mustache, donned glasses, and dyed his hair black. +Identification marks, such as moles and warts, have been removed by +surgery. One underground official boasted that he could walk down Main +Street every day and even his wife could not recognize him! + +In addition, the member must be supplied with fake identification papers, +Social Security cards, drivers’ licenses, library cards, bank-deposit +books. If he is stopped on the street he must be able to prove his +“identity.” Likewise, he should acquaint himself with his adopted place +of birth, know something about its newspapers, streets, and stores. Does +it have a baseball team? It’s usually best to pick a small town, for +there is less chance of meeting somebody from there. + +Frequently the member, in his new pose, will attempt, at least on a +temporary basis, to secure employment. His underground work will be +conducted in the evenings and on week ends. Some of the comrades are on +the Party’s payroll, but most are not. One member became, in the words +of her employer, an “efficient, affable, and able” secretary. Little did +he dream that she was a communist on special underground assignment. In +another instance a comrade, when hired for a job, said she was born in +a Southern city, had attended a certain grade and high school, and had +previously worked in another city. Later FBI investigation revealed that +her story was a complete falsehood. Her job was only a front for secret +communist work. + +That’s why the underground is a nightmare of deceit, fear, and tension, +where one has to tell falsehoods, fabricate a background, adopt a +new name, and live in fear of being recognized by old friends or +acquaintances. + +Suppose the Girl in the Polka-dotted Blouse, in order to carry out an +assignment, must pose as a widow or the estranged wife of a sea captain, +or as the retired owner of a ladies’ dress shop? Think of the problems +that would arise. What types of stories must be improvised? What kind of +personal possessions must be purchased to keep up the cover? + +The Party has thoroughly studied these problems. Let’s look at a secret +study issued for the instruction of women underground comrades, like the +Girl in the Polka-dotted Blouse. Here’s the advice: + + 1. Suppose you are posing as a widow (after having been married + some twenty years) and you have now come to this city “to get + away from it all and try to forget.” + + _Answer_: Well, you shouldn’t come in (as to a rooming house) + empty-handed, with only a handbag. You “must make some show + of previous accumulation,” for example, have “a few personal + ‘precious’ things,” such as “picture(s), little mementoes.” + Where can you get them? “In any 5-10c store.” + + 2. Suppose you have an inquisitive landlady who has access to + your apartment. + + _Answer_: You might first say (to cover up the scarcity of your + personal belongings) that, being so sad over becoming a widow, + you “haven’t had the heart to unpack everything yet.” If you + stay longer, you better buy a dustmop and some other items, “so + that the story of having been a housewife for so many years + will ring true.” And by all means have some luggage, preferably + “beat-up” luggage. “The more luggage a woman moves in with the + better is she accepted on the strength of her story.” + + 3. What if you’re underground in a small town? What about + social life? People are sure to become suspicious if you stay + seven nights a week at home. Moreover, unlike a man, it doesn’t + look right to go to a late movie alone. + + _Answer_: Take a short trip out of town. This not only takes + away suspicion but gives you something to talk about. + + 4. Then there is the problem of extra expense incurred by women. + + _Answer_: A woman must have more luggage (she’s expected to + have more clothing, etc.). Then she must use a taxi; she can’t + carry her own suitcases. Also there is the problem of “personal + upkeep.” Suppose you are a blonde and you come into town as a + brunette. As the study points out, you have to keep that up, to + a tune of about six dollars for each trip to the beauty parlor + and two dollars extra for eyebrow dye. + +Attention to detail must be exacting, even to the clothes worn on given +occasions. Here’s a sample of a “How I was Dressed” diary kept by the +Girl in the Polka-dotted Blouse: + + —wore dark grey dress, high heels, walked to the movie ... + + —wore low heels, two-piece blue suit, red tam ... + + —wore high heels, white blouse and blue hankie. Carried + umbrella, looked like rain. + +In meeting noncommunists she doesn’t want to be a strawberry blonde one +day and the next week a natural brunette. If she is representing herself +as a “poor widow,” she probably should wear the same dress every time, +not come in a variety of outfits. + +Assignments in the underground vary. A select few are engaged in highly +secret disciplinary work. Security is most important. The telephone and +mails are to be avoided. Never carry Party documents or names on your +person. Disciplinary squads may stop members and search their purses. +Woe if a compromising slip of paper is found bearing a name or telephone +number. + +Security precautions also affect the above-ground Party. No membership +books (or cards) are issued; large clubs are broken up into small groups; +records are destroyed. In a Western state a Party member was instructed +to go to the post office for mail. He was to carry a brown paper sack +and, upon leaving, proceed to the restroom of a nearby building. There +another Party member, carrying an identical brown sack containing nothing +but rubbish, would meet him. They would exchange sacks. In this way, so +it was thought, the person with the mail could not be detected. + +Then there are couriers who carry secret messages, often in code. +In addition, they bring supplies and funds, meet Party leaders in +hide-outs, contact mail drops. Couriers are of various types: (1) Party +officials “just going through,” (2) Party members, such as salesmen and +truck drivers, whose occupations allow them to travel without suspicion, +(3) “professional” couriers who are trained to operate on a full-time +basis. + +Some comrades are given special assignments, such as stock-piling +supplies (paper, ink, printing presses, funds). Others, working with +above-ground comrades, secure, for future underground use, extra +drivers’ licenses, birth certificates, car titles, etc. In addition, +comrades operate hide-outs and escape routes or hide Party records. The +underground from 1951 to 1955 actually harbored Party leaders who were +criminal fugitives, having been convicted by United States courts. + +Depending on local conditions, the organizational structure of the +underground varies from area to area. As a general rule, because of +security reasons, the leadership is rotated. The Party may feel that a +member is going “stale.” If so, he may be shifted to another assignment +or temporarily “furloughed upstairs” (meaning allowed to reappear in the +“open”). A reserve leadership is always ready, in case the functioning +leaders are arrested or otherwise incapacitated. This reserve may consist +of other underground comrades or members still “upstairs.” + +On the West Coast, for example, a clandestine communist group using the +code name of “Mollie” had full responsibility for carrying through not +only underground but also many above-ground functions. For security +reasons underground contacts are always downward, not to a higher level. +This means that top officials can contact those in lower levels, but the +latter (who seldom even know the identity of their superiors) cannot +contact above themselves. In event of an “enemy breakthrough,” only the +identity of those on the level “broken through,” or lower level, will be +revealed. + +As we have mentioned, the closest cooperation must exist between the +underground and above-ground apparatuses. The former cannot operate +as a self-contained unit. It must constantly be serviced from above; +otherwise it would die of suffocation. As we noticed in Chapter 17, +communist fronts serve as periscopes to the “upper world” through which +funds, supplies, and instructions are funneled. The deeper the Party goes +underground, the greater the reliance on fronts. + +The overriding consideration of the underground is security, not to be +discovered by the FBI. Let’s see how this affects the Party’s operations. + + +Hide-outs + +Generally speaking the underground uses three types of hide-outs: (1) +_temporary_, an abode for a courier or Party member en route to another +destination. This will probably be a room in the home of a “politically +reliable” individual; (2) _emergency_, a home or apartment where a +member, perhaps feeling he is being watched or suddenly becoming sick, +can hide on an emergency basis. It is not to be used too frequently; (3) +_permanent_, or “deep freeze,” where one or more comrades can remain for +extended periods, maybe a month, or even a year, with all necessities +being provided. Farms or cabins in remote areas make excellent “deep +freezes.” + +Here are some of the requirements demanded for a “safe” hide-out. They +illustrate the Party’s attention to detail. + +1. The owner must be absolutely loyal to the Party. + +2. If an apartment, there must be no doorman or elevator operator. A +walk-up apartment of three or four stories is preferable. + +3. If a family home, the members must be thoroughly reliable. There +should be no children, relatives, or maids. + +4. The proprietor should not be too closely identified with the Party, +either as a sympathizer or member. + +5. The hide-out must be located where there are no curious or talkative +neighbors. + +6. The quarters must be sufficiently large to accommodate extra guests. +Excessive cramping attracts attention. + +7. The neighborhood should be well known to the owner and one in which +some trusted friends reside. In this way any inquiries in the vicinity +will immediately come to their attention. + + +Meetings + +Elaborate security must surround all underground contacts, whether +between just two people or groups. Here are a few points the underground +has to remember: + +1. Don’t use the same meeting place too frequently. It might excite +suspicion. + +2. If a meeting is held at a home, a member of the family (who, of +course, is thoroughly reliable) should be there to answer the door in +case an outsider knocks. He can handle the situation and also serve as a +lookout. + +3. If large numbers are involved, times of arrival and departure should +be staggered. Everybody should not arrive or depart at the same time. + +4. If the comrades don’t know each other, a predetermined means of +identification (a code word, piece of clothing, etc.) should be used. + +5. Bring no more documents (books, papers, etc.) than absolutely +necessary. Avoid note-taking. Make effective use of memory. + +6. Upon departure, a “rear-guard” comrade should thoroughly check for any +incriminating items. Have any papers been left on the floor? Is there a +telephone number scratched on the wall? Has someone forgotten his coat, +which might contain Party data? + +In one instance six weeks allegedly were spent in bringing twenty people +to a national underground conference. + +If two comrades don’t know each other, advance arrangements must be made, +usually by notes, to effect identification for a meeting. Here is one +example. The note read: + + On Friday, April 6, 8 P.M. at NE corner, Oak and 9th Sts.—my + courier will be standing with a _Field and Stream_ magazine. + Bill’s courier will approach her and ask, “Mrs. Polk, what time + is it?” She will reply, “I’m sorry, my watch is stopped.” + +Note the use of a magazine and code words for identification. Just +in case the first contact didn’t work out, there were alternative +instructions. The note continued: + + In case no one shows, she will be on the SW corner, Walnut and + 10th, same magazine, Friday, 13, 8 P.M., same question and + answer. She will wait around only ten minutes each time. + +Noncommunists probably will find it difficult to understand the reckless +abandon, personal risk, and sheer physical endurance displayed by +communists to conceal their underground activities. Here are a few of the +tactics employed by communists to determine if they are being followed: + + _Driving cars_: + + 1. Driving alternately at high and low rates of speed. + + 2. Entering a heavily traveled intersection on a yellow light, + hoping to lose any follower or cause an accident. + + 3. Turning corners at high rates of speed and stopping abruptly. + + 4. Suddenly leaving a car and walking hurriedly down a one-way + street in the direction in which vehicle traffic is prohibited. + + 5. Entering a dark street in a residential area at night, + making a sharp U-turn, cutting into a side alley, and + extinguishing the car’s lights. + + 6. Driving to a rural area, taking a long walk in a field, then + having another car meet them. + + 7. Waiting until the last minute, then making a sharp left turn + in front of oncoming traffic. + + 8. Stopping at every filling station on the highway, walking + around the car, always looking, then going on. + + _On foot_: + + 1. Leaving subways, buses, and trains at the last minute, even + holding the door open and jumping off. + + 2. Entering hotels, bus terminals, and department stores where + there are many exits. + + 3. Stooping over in the aisles, then suddenly rising and + looking around to see if anybody is searching for them. + + 4. Doubling back after rounding a corner. + + 5. Putting a coin in a pay telephone booth, dialing a number, + then rushing to the adjoining booth to see if anybody is trying + to listen. + + 6. Leaving a taxicab, but instructing the driver to go around + the block and pick them up again. + + 7. Using store windows as mirrors to see behind them. + + 8. Walking slowly to a corner, then starting to run down an + alleyway. + +Always there is the fear of being followed. One Party couple registered +at a motel, then the husband parked the car several miles away. He walked +back and climbed through a side window. Maybe in this way he could +conceal his night’s lodging! + +A woman in a Midwestern city kept riding streetcars, buses, and taxis for +thirty hours, stopping at no time except for meals. In communist language +she was “_dry-cleaning_”; that is, making certain that she was not being +followed. + +The pressure becomes terrific. As long as a comrade feels he is “dirty” +(that is, he suspects the “enemy,” meaning the FBI, is near), he must +keep up his “dry-cleaning.” He can make his “meet” or enter a hide-out +only when he’s certain he is “clean.” + +Two dry-cleaning techniques are of special interest. One is the +_switch-point_ operation: The communist leader is driven to a certain +location in a car (called a “drop car”). There he alights and enters +another car (called a “pickup car”). Before entering the second car, +however, he will walk across a parking lot, over a bridge, or through +a department store—the object being to lose any pursuer. In the double +switch, the pickup car drops the Party leader at a second switch, +where he will be picked up by a third vehicle and then taken to his +destination. + +In the _scramble_, members (as on leaving meetings) enter automobiles. +The drivers start the motors. Suddenly the doors of the cars will open +and the comrades will get out, including the drivers. They scramble, +meaning they quickly take seats in the other cars, whereupon all autos +will move away in different directions. It’s hard for any “pursuer” to +tell who went in which car. + +The underground creates intense strains on family life. The undeviating +demands of the Party (its interests must come first, regardless of +personal consequences) leave deep scars. + +For years many families are separated. On some occasions a midnight +contact or a few days of furlough are permitted. Children grow up without +seeing their fathers. In one instance a child was stricken with polio. +His underground father did not leave his Party work to come to the +child’s bedside. Mothers are often hard pressed to give answers to the +question, “Where’s Daddy?” Some “explain” that Daddy is away on a trip, +in another town, or dead. One little boy, whose father was gone, said: “I +wish my father was in jail. Then I could at least see him.” + +Normal family relationships are disrupted. The Party may promise +financial assistance to the families of underground comrades, but many +times the support is miserly or does not come at all. Heart-rending +results ensue: + + During the past four years, Hank and I have been separated + most of the time [one Party wife wrote]. There has never been + any question about carrying out the decisions made, even when + Hazel [small daughter] and I were set adrift by the Party with + no financial provision and I had to go to my family so that my + infant could have food and a place to live. When Hazel almost + died from third-degree burns, Hank didn’t even know about it + since we had no way to communicate. I have been cut off from + my family completely. The furniture, clothes and other things + that we accumulated during our marriage we’ll probably never + see again. We have moved, and moved, and moved yet again + ... dragging Hazel around from place to place, carrying out + decisions made, guarding our security and that of others. + +The total effect was demoralizing. The wife continues: + + I can’t have an operation because it would mean six months in + a cast and on my stomach—and there is no one to take care of + Hazel .... I get overtired physically, and the past four years + of the kind of life we have led, with its many pressures of + loneliness, financial scrounging, security measures and the + sword of Damocles—that of being discovered—hanging over my + head, finally took its toll. + +Despite this woman’s hardships the Party brought charges that her husband +had been seeing her without permission. The utter fanaticism of Party +discipline is shown by her reaction toward the charges: “If in spite of +all this the Board feels that there has been a breach of discipline, then +I am willing to abide by any decision made and accept whatever control is +agreed upon.” + +The underground, perhaps more than any other phase of Party activity, +brings out the fanaticism of communist discipline. The member becomes so +entranced with his mission that his hardships, sufferings, and obstacles +become challenges to overcome, not reasons for discouragement. The very +thought of working on this assignment, as one Party leader stated, should +make him “ooh and ah.” + +Some Party wives, however, did not always “ooh and ah,” but bitterly +resented their husbands’ long absences from home and the disruption of +family life. This presented the Party with a serious problem. These +wives were potential weak links in communist security; they might +jeopardize the husbands’ location by making unauthorized contacts, might +give information to the “enemy” or impair morale by their uncongenial +attitude. One Party instruction, for example, urged that wives should be +spoken to and the importance of the Party’s policies explained. They +must be indoctrinated more. For some Party wives it would certainly take +a lot of explaining. + +Children have been born in the communist underground, children who were +not even given their true family names. In one instance a father and +mother living as an underground couple (_transformed couple_) entered +their child at a nearby school under the family alias. In another case a +baby born to underground parents was registered with county authorities +under the underground alias. Imagine the hypocrisy of such a family +situation. A whole world of falsehoods must be invented to satisfy +youthful curiosity. What about the parents’ childhoods? What about +grandparents? Every family matter discussed must be carefully weighed: +Will it give away any secrets? + +The very character of the underground, with its emphasis on stealth and +deceit, degrades human values. While many comrades struggle in poverty, +living in squalid conditions at great personal sacrifice, a few enjoy the +very best—comfortable hide-outs equipped with all conveniences. For them +the underground is a “good life,” with others paying the bill. Moreover, +Party discipline often places great power into the hands of some who, as +petty dictators, do not hesitate to use it to inflict revenge and spite +on their personal enemies. Many times the underground becomes a catacomb +of back-stabbing and the settling of old scores. + +Sexual immorality is also abetted. In one instance an organizer, leaving +his wife and children, lived in Chicago with another woman. In an Eastern +city, a woman whose husband was underground carried on an affair with +another man. In still another instance a wife kept company with a man +while her husband was forbidden by the Party’s underground leaders to see +her. + +This is the communist underground. It may appear as a “beehive of crazy +confusion.” But it is not. All these shifts, midnight meetings, and +escape routes find meaning in only one thing: the strengthening of the +Party. The cardinal question always is, “What is best for the Party?” + +As one Party leader stated, “Our best people are in this field.... They +are not in it for adventure, romance, thrills or pleasure....” They +“are in it because that is where the Party wants them for political +reasons....” “... it is ... probably one of the toughest and hardest +assignments for anyone.” + +That is why the Party, as we have seen, tries desperately to create the +communist man, the individual obedient even when he is beyond the Party’s +immediate control. “It’s not me who speaks,” one leader said, “but the +Party.” Any allegiance outside the Party must be broken. The underground +worker is the member who, even if cut off from leadership, will know what +to do, will carry out the assignment, regardless of what it is. He is the +man on whom all revolutionary plans depend. + +Here is an example of how this fanaticism works: + +Shortly before noon one day a top Party official drove east out of town. +At the outskirts he doubled back, twice turning corners and coming to +abrupt stops. Then, at speeds varying from forty to eighty miles an hour, +he continued east for twenty-six miles. Turning around, he retraced his +route at eighty miles an hour. + +He was “dry-cleaning” in a most dangerous and reckless fashion. Back in +town, for three hours he parked and reparked his car, darting up streets, +entering and immediately leaving hotels. + +At roughly 4:00 P.M. he left town again, this time driving south, again +at various speeds. After five hours he cut east for fourteen miles, north +for two, doubled back for twelve, south-east for forty-two, sometimes +running without his lights; parking for a few minutes near buildings, +then darting out at savage speed. + +Late that night, after roughly twelve hours of furtive, reckless driving, +often at highly dangerous speeds, he arrived at his destination and +checked into a hotel. He had covered some 360 miles; the normal driving +distance was 195. + +This type of fanatical communist, if so instructed, would not hesitate to +lead a riot, steal vital military secrets, sabotage defense industries, +or perform illegal activities. Here is the true communist at work, +without concern for personal risk or safety. + + + + +21. + +_Espionage and Sabotage_ + + +The communist underground is designed to carry forward phases of +the Party’s program which cannot be conducted openly and lawfully. +In addition, it contains weapons of attack which must always remain +hidden (the permanent part of the underground), such as aid to Soviet +espionage, attempts to place members in strategic positions in industry +for potential sabotage, techniques to discredit law enforcement, and +endeavors to infiltrate the armed forces. + +Lenin taught that the enemy must be weakened in advance. To wait for +something to happen is not the way to achieve revolution. The way must +be prepared. The enemy must be softened up: weaken his will to resist, +nullify his capacity for counteraction, impair his morale. Then, as in +November, 1917, in Russia, when the crisis comes, communists can march to +power through the ranks of a demoralized enemy. + +The Party’s relation to Soviet espionage is one of the most potent +weapons in the communist underground arsenal. As past events have +proven—for instance the Harry Gold-Klaus Fuchs combination and the +case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, executed in 1953 on espionage +charges—Moscow-directed spying represents a vital danger to the integrity +and safety of free government. Espionage is utilized not only to secure +information but also to weaken the “enemy” from within. + +The Soviets very early instituted espionage operations against the +United States with the full cooperation of the Communist Party. In +1919 the Comintern was established and, as we have seen in Chapter 4, +Comintern “reps” became common figures in Party circles. In January, +1919, Ludwig C. A. K. Martens, a member of the Russian Communist Party, +was appointed as the first Soviet representative to the United States. +Although never recognized by the American government, he set up an office +in New York City. Arthur Adams, later identified as a Soviet atom spy, +was a member of Martens’ staff. + +In the light of today’s well-organized, efficiently operated spy +apparatus, the Soviets in the early days were crude and clumsy. Many +of the Russians were not proficient in English. They lacked knowledge +of our customs and possessed no special espionage training. Many were +propaganda as well as espionage agents and could be identified by their +rabid preaching of communism. Often the security of their communications +was not of the best. + +In late July, 1920, a seaman on the SS _Stockholm_ walked up Pier 95 in +New York City. Noticing customs officials searching two other seamen, he +turned and ran down the pier. Later, after the seaman’s apprehension, +a package was found concealed in his trousers. Inside was a series of +envelopes, one inside the other with the smallest containing over 200 +uncut diamonds valued at 50,000 dollars. The smuggling of diamonds +was one of the early Bolshevik techniques of financing operations in +the United States. For whom was the package destined? Inside was a +typewritten letter starting, “Comrade Martens.” + +Unfamiliarity with America made dependence on the Communist Party, USA, +more important than ever. Without the ready base of the Communist Party, +USA, with its fanatical allegiance to Moscow, Soviet espionage would have +had tremendous problems in getting started. As it was, there were Party +members available, able and willing to carry out Soviet instructions. +Often it was difficult to distinguish between a member’s work for the +Party and for Moscow. Comrades traveled back and forth to Russia, were +given assignments by the Kremlin, and felt it their highest duty to +gather information for the Bolsheviks. + +Party officials made assistance to Moscow priority Number One. We have +seen in Chapter 4 how the communist leadership, for example, promised to +help Comrade Loaf (a Comintern agent) collect information on the American +labor movement. In another instance the Party Secretariat actually +approved the release of a Party member for Soviet intelligence duties. + +What were some of the ways through which the Communist Party, USA, +rendered aid to Soviet espionage? + +Most important, of course, was recruitment. The Party was able, time +after time, to supply recruits, both members and sympathizers, for +espionage use. Suppose the Soviets needed a photographer? a source of +information in a Pennsylvania steel plant? a trusted short-wave radio +expert? The Party would be expected to, and did, “fill the bill.” + +This funneling of talent to the Soviets was often accomplished through +a special Party contact who was called a “steerer.” A trusted old-time +member, he was able to spot recruits for espionage among the Party’s +ranks and to fulfill requests made by the Soviets. As espionage +operations became more complex, the “steerer’s” role became ever more +vital. The Party was a vast recruiting ground for spy talent. + +The Party provided many essential “services” to Soviet espionage. Suppose +a Russian espionage agent secretly entered the United States, to operate +here or while en route to another country. Most likely, as so often +happened, he would need a “new identity,” or, in espionage language, a +“change of feathers.” This probably meant a faked birth certificate, a +false passport, and other identification papers. Maybe he would be placed +in “deep freeze” for several months. If so, he had to be “serviced”—that +is, fed and clothed. After being “re-feathered,” he would be on his way. + +Then there were “business covers.” A Party member, perhaps with Soviet +funds, would set up a business, allegedly for legitimate purposes but +actually for espionage. In 1927, World Tourists was incorporated in New +York, ostensibly for tourist business. Actually, this “business,” under +the operation of Jacob Golos, a communist “steerer,” became an active +espionage “cover.” + +The Party, in addition, helped arrange the transfer of funds, established +mail drops (where espionage communications come to a third person, later +to be given to the espionage network), and operated couriers. In one +instance a Party member even served as an interpreter for a Soviet agent. + +Even from these early days, however, evidence existed that the Soviets +were aware of the dangers of too close an affiliation with the United +States Party. An espionage operation might be jeopardized by a known +Party member’s participation. Similarly, in the event of a “blow-up,” +the Party, in the public’s eyes, would be linked directly with a +foreign power, Soviet Russia. This was one thing both the Soviets and +Party officials wanted to avoid. Hence, by the early 1940’s there was +a definite lessening of direct Soviet dependence on the U.S. Party for +espionage assistance. + +The Soviet spy system, moreover, was now better able to stand on its own +feet. In 1924, Amtorg Trading Corporation (a Soviet government commercial +agency) was established. This gave the Soviets their first “legal” base +for espionage operations. In this way persons or institutions in a +country openly as representatives or agents of a foreign power have an +ideal cover to fulfill their assignments of clandestine espionage. In +1933 diplomatic recognition was afforded the Soviet Union. Now trained +espionage agents, operating under diplomatic immunity, could direct +operations. After World War II Russians assigned to the United Nations +in this country gave additional striking power to Soviet espionage. +Moreover, assistance was possible through the espionage networks of +Soviet satellite countries operating in the United States. + +This lessening of direct Soviet dependence on the Party was a gradual +development. Whereas in the early 1920’s Party and espionage work were +often indistinguishable, the Soviets now instructed members tapped for +service to drop all connections with the Party. One old-time Party +member, turned spy, told the FBI that the Soviets had instructed agents +to conceal their Party affiliations. This soon became a standard +technique. If engaged in espionage, cut off all connections with the +Party, even contacts with former Party friends. Ethel Rosenberg, for +example, indicated that she no longer bought the _Daily Worker_ at +her usual newsstand. Another agent, while in the company of a Soviet +superior, stopped to purchase a communist publication. He was severely +reprimanded. The communist label might betray the espionage ring. + +The Soviets, however, still depended on communists or sympathizers for +assistance. In one major apparatus detected by the FBI, for example, +twelve of seventeen participants had been Party members. Both Ethel and +Julius Rosenberg, executed as Soviet spies, had communist backgrounds. + +Elizabeth Bentley, moreover, has given testimony as to how she collected +dues from secret members of the Party when she came to Washington as a +courier of the Soviet espionage system. Among those from whom she has +stated she collected dues were officials of the Office of Strategic +Services (OSS), Department of Commerce, the Air Corps, the Office of +the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs, the Treasury Department, and +others. In some instances one person would collect dues for a group +and hand them over to Miss Bentley. One such individual was Nathan +Gregory Silvermaster, who, according to Miss Bentley, headed a group. +(Silvermaster denied the disclosures initially and later invoked the +Fifth Amendment.) On occasions a member of a group when coming to New +York would deliver the Party dues collected to Miss Bentley there. The +Party also benefited, as disclosed by testimony, because, as in some +instances, information collected for the Soviets was made available to +the leadership of the Party for review. + +In 1945 the defection of Igor Gouzenko, cipher clerk assigned to the +Soviet Embassy in Canada, revealed close tie-ups between Soviet espionage +and Canadian communists. Then the appearance of FBI informants at Smith +Act trials shocked the Soviet Union as to the amazing extent to which +the FBI had penetrated the Communist Party, USA. These, among other +revelations, encouraged even more the Soviet tendency to lessen its +direct dependence on the Party. Today, with some exceptions, the Soviets +are attempting to operate their espionage networks independent of the +Party, staying away, as much as possible, from Party assistance. This +does not mean, however, that the Party is today not playing an important +role in Soviet espionage. As we shall see, the Party is doing much to +prepare the way for Soviet espionage and, when the need arises, will +unhesitatingly supply vital assistance. The present “drawing away” from +direct Party assistance is strictly a Soviet tactical maneuver, subject +to instant change. + +Soviet espionage is no longer a clumsy, crude affair, as it was in +the days of the rollicking “reps,” but a deadly efficient profession, +skillfully directed from Moscow, with well-trained agents supplied with +money, modern technical equipment, and experience. To the Soviets, +espionage is a part of over-all state policy. + +On an April night in 1951, just two minutes before seven o’clock, a tall +man wearing a tweed sport coat walked through the darkness toward the +Washington Monument in our nation’s capital. Brilliant lights played on +the famous shrine. The usually bustling place was deserted. Everything +was quiet. + +Suddenly the tall man stepped from the circle of darkness into the light. +He stopped a moment, peered up at the 555-foot top, looked at his watch, +then started to walk around the base. On his left hand he wore a glove. A +band of adhesive tape circled the middle finger of his right hand, and he +carried a red-covered book under his left arm. This man was an employee +of our Defense Department. As part of his work he had access to highly +confidential information, just what the Russians wanted. + +Exactly at seven o’clock, another man clad in a dark business suit +stepped from the shadows. An espionage contact set up months previously +in Austria was being consummated to the minute. The second man was +Yuri V. Novikov, Second Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Washington. +(Novikov was well known to the FBI, since his activities in the United +States had gone far beyond those of a diplomatic official. He was +audacious almost beyond description. His brazenness reached a climax +when he sat with defense counsel during the espionage trial of the +onetime Justice Department employee, Judith Coplon. During this trial he +would write out questions and hand them to defense counsel to direct to +FBI agents on the witness stand. He was particularly interested in having +questions asked pertaining to our internal administration and procedures.) + +When Novikov met the government employee he said, “I’m Mr. Williams,” the +code words of recognition, along with the glove, tape, and red book. The +two shook hands, then Novikov took the military specialist by the elbow, +directing him from the light. A few words, arranging another meeting, and +they parted. + +From that night, for an entire year, the Soviets made secretive contacts +with the government employee, never realizing that he was a “double +agent” of the FBI. Seldom were meetings held in the same place. Some were +on lonely lanes or in dead-end streets; one on a narrow rock bridge on +a deserted Maryland road after dark. One time Novikov stood in a movie +line; the double agent was to pass by and, seeing him there, would know +that a meeting was scheduled one hour later at a nearby school. Then +there were chalk marks on trash cans and a pencil mark on page 100 of the +Manhattan (New York) telephone directory in Washington’s Union Station, +elaborate code signals between Novikov and the man from the defense +establishment. + +I hasten to add that the government employee was a loyal American, and +in meeting Novikov he was merely carrying out a duty imposed upon him +when he was assigned in Austria with the air force. His services were +solicited by Otto Verber, who came to the United States as a refugee, +as did Kurt L. Ponger, who had married Verber’s sister. Both Verber +and Ponger were in the armed services, both had acquired American +citizenship, and, after the war, both had served in Europe. Upon +returning to private life, both settled in Vienna, where they took +advantage of the GI bill and benefits and enrolled in the University of +Vienna. In 1949 Ponger was recruited by the Soviet intelligence service, +and he in turn recruited Verber. It was later learned that Ponger had +been a member of a Communist Party cell in England before he came to the +United States as a refugee. He also had indoctrinated Verber. + +The air force representative promptly reported Verber’s approach to his +superiors and from that time on acted under instructions. Prior to his +return to the United States, Verber and Ponger arranged for the meeting +at the Washington Monument. The Treasury of the United States, of course, +received the thousands of dollars of Soviet funds paid to the loyal +American. + +In June, 1953, after pleading guilty to an espionage indictment, Ponger +was sentenced to a prison term of from five to fifteen years, while +Verber received a sentence of from three years, four months, to ten +years. Novikov, who was named in the indictment as a co-conspirator, was +declared _persona non grata_ and returned to the Soviet Union. + +The Soviet spy system is a disciplined structure, composed of many +networks. There are the “legal” networks; that is, espionage controlled +by legal representatives of the Russian government, such as diplomats. +This was the case of Novikov. Then there are illegal networks, meaning +spy rings operated by Moscow independent of the legal establishments. +More and more the Soviets are concentrating on building illegal +networks and planting “sleeper” agents. Such was the case of Colonel +Rudolf Ivanovich Abel, of Soviet intelligence, who was arrested by the +Immigration and Naturalization Service in June, 1957, at the request of +the FBI, after we had identified him as a concealed agent. After his +indictment in August, 1957, on espionage charges, information was made +public concerning him which the FBI could not previously disclose. In +November, 1957, after being convicted in Federal Court, Eastern District +of New York, he was sentenced to thirty years in prison and fined 3000 +dollars. Subsequently, a notice of appeal was filed. + +Ordinarily a network includes a principal (the boss), always a Russian +national in a “legal” network. Then there are, depending on the size +of the network, group leaders, couriers, sources of information. +Non-Russians, such as Harry Gold, may reach as high as a group leader or +may be even a principal, but at all times they are under the firm control +of Soviet superiors. In espionage, as in all features of communism, +native comrades exist only to serve the Russian master. + +Strange as it may sound, it is difficult to become a Russian espionage +agent. The Soviets are highly selective. They will not accept just +anybody. Does the prospect have access to confidential data? Will he +accept discipline? What is his background? The Russians want to know +everything about him. Sometimes elaborate verification checks, from +Soviet contacts around the world, are run. Moreover, the breaking-in +period of a prospect may be very slow. At first he may be given minor +assignments to test his flair for intelligence work and discernment of +details, all without risk to any established espionage operation. If he +“comes through,” he’ll be given more responsible work. + +Why does an individual engage in espionage? Why do native Americans +betray their country for a foreign tyranny? + +The motives are many, and often intertwined: money, the temporary +thrill of secretive work, personal weaknesses, blackmail, feelings of +spite against America because of an imagined wrong, a hope to assist +relatives in communist countries. Very important, however, is ideological +motivation, an attraction to the theory of communism and/or misguided +admiration for Soviet rule in Russia. + +Let’s examine more closely this ideological motivation since it is +playing such a major role today. We can distinguish two major categories: + +1. _Non-Party ideological motivation_: that is, a feeling for or +acceptance of the alleged principles of communism. In prior years many +thousands were hoodwinked into believing, because of propaganda, that +Russia represented a new “era” in humanity, that anti-Semitism was being +abolished, that injustices were being rectified, that the problems of +hunger, poverty, and racial discrimination were being solved. Among the +reasons Harry Gold, who was never a Party member, gave for entering +Russian espionage were: + + A genuine desire to help the people of the Soviet Union to be + able to enjoy some of the better things of life.... Here, too, + in the person of the Soviet Union was the one bulwark against + the further encroachment of that monstrosity, Fascism.... + Anything that was against anti-Semitism I was for, and so + the chance to help strengthen the Soviet Union seemed like a + wonderful opportunity. + +2. _Party ideological motivation_: the conditioning of thousands of +members and sympathizers in the tenets of Marxism-Leninism, schooling +them in loyalty to Moscow. Every Party member, through his training, is +a potential communist espionage or sabotage agent. Julius Rosenberg, +a fanatical Party member, actually volunteered his services. David +Greenglass, Rosenberg’s brother-in-law, was also an ardent communist. +Walking along Highway 66 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1944, his wife, +Ruth, who had just come from New York City, told David that Julius +wanted him to furnish information about his work at Los Alamos, where +the atom bomb was being prepared. (David was assigned there as an army +technician.) At first David said no—but his ideological motivation as a +communist reversed his decision, and he agreed. He was to do great damage +to America by furnishing the Russians, through Rosenberg, with valuable +information about our greatest weapon. + +Then there are other methods of motivating agents: + +1. _Threat of exposure and blackmail._ Agents are given money (sometimes +even against their will). Usually the amount is small, but a receipt is +obtained, thus compromising their independence. Or they are made to sign +papers, reports, or documents. If the initial ideological enthusiasm +wears off, as it probably will, the agent is trapped. Even if he so +desires, he cannot break away. + +2. _Use of hostages._ Once they have control over relatives and loved +ones the Soviets do not hesitate to let it be known that unless their +victim does their bidding a whole family will be liquidated. + +Today the Party, with its thousands of members, represents a vast +reservoir of potential espionage agents. Moreover, its vast propaganda +and ideological program is daily saturating their hearts, minds, and +souls with a sympathetic acceptance of communism. To be a Party member +does not automatically mean being an espionage agent, but it makes the +member potential spy material, if the request for aid to Russia ever +comes. This is a tremendous and present danger to our security. + +The United States is strategic spy target Number One for the Soviets. +Every effort is being made to penetrate our defenses. The Soviets +are interested in literally everything. Any person who believes that +espionage means securing only military information is unacquainted +with the nature of twentieth-century spying. An army manual, security +regulations of a government building, the “political” views of a +clerk in an industrial firm, incidents in the life of a prominent +person which might be used for blackmail—these and many more are prize +espionage targets. Soviet espionage is both mass (seeking information +at random) and specific (trying to obtain a certain blueprint or +military operational plan); open (gathering public source items, such +as newspapers, magazines, maps, navigational charts, patents, aerial +photographs, technical journals) and undercover (use of illegal means to +steal information). + +Here are some major “areas of interest” of Soviet espionage in the United +States: + + 1. Scientific research and development, with particular + attention to atomic energy, missiles, radar defense, + electronics, and aeronautics. + + 2. The strength, deployment, training methods, strategy, and + tactics of the armed forces of the United States, together with + ordnance, weapons, and military equipment. + + 3. The intelligence and counterintelligence agencies of the + United States, possibilities for penetration. + + 4. International relations of the United States. + + 5. Weaknesses in American public and private life that can be + exploited for intelligence and propaganda purposes. + + 6. Anti-Soviet political opposition groups, refugees from the + Soviet Union and satellite countries, and nationality groups in + the United States. + +The world of Soviet espionage, like the communist underground, is bleak +and dreary. An individual may work for years and know his superior only +as “Bill” or “Henry.” His rewards: a smile, a promise, or a token award. +Harry Gold, who gave a lifetime to the Soviets, was awarded the Order of +the Red Star, which, among other things, gave him the privilege of free +trolley rides in Moscow. To those hoping to get money, the promise is +always big, but results are meager. Here are Gold’s own words: + + ... the difficulty in raising money for ... trips; the weary + hours of waiting on street corners in strange towns where I had + no business to be and the killing of time in cheap movies; and + the lies I had to tell at home and to my friends to explain my + supposed whereabouts (Mom was certain that I was carrying on + a series of clandestine love affairs).... It was drudgery ... + anyone who had an idea this work was glamorous and exciting was + very wrong indeed—nothing could have been more dreary. + +Life is disciplined to the final detail. The individual is a cog in +a vast, inhuman, demanding machine. Klaus Fuchs, for example, while +committing espionage in New York, asked permission from the Soviets +for his sister in Massachusetts to stay with him. A petty detail but, +disciplined agent that he was, he got the necessary approval. + +The pressure is terrific, with the Soviet principals always wanting +more and more. “If you were in Russia,” one Soviet superior barked at a +sub-agent who had done something wrong, “you would suffer the same fate +as the traitors in the Moscow trials,” referring to the purges of the +1930’s. Everything is geared to promote Russian interests. If the agent +fails, there are threats of dire consequences. + +Espionage’s twin partner is sabotage. In 1917 and after, sabotage played +an important part in the Bolshevik rise to power. Revolution for the +communists is a “science,” of which sabotage is an important element. Not +to use it, according to communist tactics, is to hinder victory. + +The Communist Party, USA, has not reached the point where preparations +for sabotage are vital to its future plans. Its small numbers, fear of +FBI penetration of its inner discussions, and the existence of federal +laws against sabotage and insurrection militate against such plans. So +far the communists have carefully refrained from any show of terrorism. +Any such act, even random sorties, the communists realize, would cause +more harm to the Party by counter prosecutive action than any damage +achieved by violence. Moreover, basic communist revolutionary tactics +dictate against any such sabotage attempts until the eve of hostilities, +which we pray and hope will never come. According to communist teaching, +the comrades should not “tip their hands” until the “time is ripe.” At +a time when the Party was more open and truthful in proclaiming its +objectives and tactics, Party organizers were instructed, “To raise the +slogan of an armed demonstration without any anticipation of a speedy +transformation into an armed revolt, and before the preconditions for a +successful revolt exist, is to be guilty of playing with revolution.” + +Never must we forget, however, that even though acts of sabotage are not +now part of the Party’s program, they may become so in the future. In +fact, the communist underground provides a cover to commit sabotage when +it will serve the communist cause. + +As part of the Party’s underground the communists are pursuing a program +called _colonization_, designed to place concealed members in strategic +positions in basic industries and defense facilities. Colonization is +part of the Party’s industrial concentration program, which aims at +increasing communist influence in industry and labor. This always has +a high Party priority. Basic industry is a commonly used Party term, +which one communist manual has defined as those industries “upon which +the whole economic system depends.” Hence to have a Party member in a +steel plant would be more advantageous to the communists than one in a +corncob-pipe factory. This technique is also often called “A Party Rooted +Among the Workers.” + +In event of an emergency these colonizers, because of their key positions +and concealed capacities, would be able to commit sabotage. A trained +communist, by a flip of a switch, the pull of a lever, or the release +of death-generating germs, could disrupt the work of thousands. One +publication described the Party’s objective: + + In order to overthrow the capitalist system, the working class + must control the key positions in the capitalist system. These + are not the state and federal capitals, public buildings, or + residential neighborhoods, but the heart of the capitalist + system—the shops, mines, mills and factories. + +Moreover, the location of communist members in key industrial facilities +places the Party in a position, if it desires, to promote strikes and +slowdowns, which can be used as forms of sabotage. These tactics are +vital, in communist thinking, to create “revolutionary situations” +preparatory to the seizure of power. + +Colonizers do not participate in open Party activities. Often they come +from other areas of the country, even giving up their chosen professions. +Sometimes a man and wife (a colonizer couple) will be sent into this +phase of underground operations. The emphasis is on young people—those +in their twenties and thirties. Operating under aliases, they attempt to +work their way into more strategic industrial positions. These colonizers +represent a deadly communist underground weapon. They are “sleepers” who, +upon Party instructions, may one day rise up against our nation. + +Another potential danger arises from previous sabotage training of +Party members. Some, as we have seen, attended Moscow’s Lenin School. +There they learned, among other things, the techniques of guerrilla +warfare, how to make sabotage devices and organize civilian resistance. +Others served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in the Spanish Civil War. +According to William Z. Foster, 15,000 Party members saw duty with +American military forces during World War II. The Party realizes that the +enrollment of members in the armed forces provides military experience +which, in a time of revolutionary crisis, could be utilized to communist +advantage—at “capitalist” expense. + +All the time, while the Party is attacking free government, both +above-ground and underground, it seeks complete license to pursue its +schemes. Any opposition by the government is labeled “persecution,” “Red +baiting,” or “thought control.” + +For this reason communists grasp every opportunity to discredit, weaken, +and vilify the institutions enforcing law and order. As long as the +American judicial system is strong and realistically recognizes the +threat of subversion to our constitutional republic, their efforts will +be hampered. They know that. + +Listen to these teachings. Are they calculated to instill respect for our +democratic heritage? + + —_The law-enforcement officer_: “... a servant of the boss + class.... He is your enemy.” + + —_The courts_: “... the workers must ... recognize the + capitalist court as a class enemy—as a weapon in the bosses’ + hands....” “The worker must also understand that courts are not + impartial....” + +At all times communists are told to try to make “bourgeois” courts look +weak and silly. If members are brought to trial, turn the courtroom into +a sounding board for communism. “... the aim should be to turn the trial +into an open tribunal for the spreading and propagating of Communist +ideas and aims.” “The class struggle goes on in the courtroom as well as +it does on the picket line, in the shops, and in the mines.” + +That’s why every possible tactic is used inside the courtroom to +obstruct the orderly operation of justice. Outside, another attack is +coordinated: letter-writing campaigns, fund-raising drives, propaganda +leaflets, literature, all alleging that the communists on trial are +being “persecuted” and that American courts are “unfair,” “partial,” and +“undemocratic.” + +Another weapon in the Party’s underground arsenal is the attempted +infiltration of our armed forces. “Illegal work is particularly necessary +in the army, the navy and police,” Lenin proclaimed. Another communist +writer adds, “The capitalist class has the army, navy and police at its +disposal precisely for the purpose of keeping the working class from +seizing power.” + +Yet, in the final analysis, as the communists well know, force and +violence will be needed to bring about the revolution. + +In fact this is exactly what Khrushchev had in mind when he told the +Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union: + + ... Our enemies like to depict us Leninists as advocates of + violence always and everywhere. True, we recognize the need + for the revolutionary transformation of capitalist society + into socialist society. It is this that distinguishes the + revolutionary Marxists from the reformists, the opportunists. + There is no doubt that in a number of capitalist countries the + violent overthrow of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie and + the sharp aggravation of class struggle connected with this are + inevitable.... + +Over 100 years ago Marx and Engels made this point perfectly clear in the +_Communist Manifesto_. “The Communists disdain to conceal their views and +aims. They openly declare that their ends can be attained only by the +forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions.” Lenin was more +pointed: + + As long as capitalism and socialism exist, we cannot live in + peace: in the end, one or the other will triumph—a funeral + dirge will be sung either over the Soviet Republic or over + world capitalism. + +Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev reveals his own hypocrisy when, in +the same breath, he boasts that the communist world has no aggressive +intentions and then declares as he did in August, 1957, “We are Leninists +and are for peaceful cooperation.” Through the use of Aesopian language +he is seeking to induce the Western world to relax its guard until the +time when the communist world is ready to launch its offensive and hopes +to chant the “funeral dirge” over the free world. + +How can loyal Americans resist this attack? I turn to this subject in the +concluding chapters. + + + + +22. + +_What Can You Do?_ + + +The responsible person who gains an understanding of communism knows that +such understanding should lead to the question: “But what can I do about +it?” + +My answer is that we can do _a lot_. + +1. First and most important is to make sure that we do not permit the +communists to fool us into becoming “innocent victims.” Our defense? +First, to know the answers to the “Five False Claims of Communism” given +in Chapter 7. Next, to know the ways to “spot” deceptive communist +fronts, listed at the end of Chapter 17. + +2. Members of a trade union or any civic, fraternal, or social +organization can help by spotting, exposing, and opposing communist +efforts to infiltrate and capture that organization. How this can be done +is told in Chapter 16. + +3. And, finally, there may well be occasions when everyone might have the +opportunity to help expose and prevent attempts at espionage, sabotage, +and other types of subversive activity. + +“Yes,” one might say, “but I’m just a private citizen. Isn’t spy-hunting +a job for the FBI?” + +Of course it is a job for the FBI, one given it by Presidential +directives, acts of Congress, and rulings of the Attorney General. But +the FBI can’t do it all alone. The FBI has jurisdiction over more than +140 violations of federal law, and in a country with over 170,000,000 +inhabitants there are fewer than 6200 agents of the FBI. Hence, all +of these agents are not available for the investigation of subversive +activities. We need the help of _all_ loyal Americans. + +Furthermore, in a democracy like ours, citizenship carries with it not +only _rights_ but _obligations_. One of these is to do _our_ part to +preserve, protect, and defend the United States against all enemies, +whether domestic or foreign. The President of the United States, for +example, in issuing directives giving the FBI the responsibility over +matters relating to espionage, sabotage, and subversive activities, +specifically called upon all patriotic citizens and individuals to assist +us. + +Therefore, those individuals who place information they have regarding +the communist conspiracy into the proper hands are making a contribution +of great value to the security of their country. + +“But,” one may say, “what can I do? I lead an ordinary life. I don’t know +any communists. So how can I be of any help?” + +My answer to that is: You never know! Here is a case history of another +average American who thought he “didn’t know any communists.” + +This incident might be called the Case of the Forgotten Rubbish. + +It was on a Saturday. A man telephoned one of our field offices. “I’ve +been cleaning out my garage,” he said, “and I’ve found some old rubbish +there.” + +“Yes,” said the special agent. + +“I guess I’m crazy calling about this, but I thought you might be +interested. The stuff doesn’t belong to me. It was left here by some +roomers who moved a month or two ago. There’s a box with a lot of cards.” + +“What kind of cards?” + +“Don’t know,” the man answered. “I never saw any like them before. There +are no names on them. Have words like ‘club’ and ‘section’ and some +different colored tabs on them. Guess I should have burned them and +not....” + +“We’re certainly glad you called,” the agent said. “Mind if we come to +see you?” + +That telephone call enabled the FBI to secure the membership records of +a complete section of the Communist Party. Marked for destruction by the +section membership secretary, they had, by mistake, found their way into +the forgotten rubbish. + +Now an alert, patriotic citizen had placed these records into the fight +against communism, helping to identify many of the most dangerous +subversives in his very own community. + +In this way he, like many others who report information to the FBI, was +helping protect his own home, family, and nation. + +Don’t think one must have evidence establishing the identity of a spy, +the hide-out of an underground Party leader, or the location of stolen +blueprints before he can report information. Many cases start with very +small clues, a scrap of paper, a photograph, an abandoned passport. Then, +bit by bit, the entire picture is developed by investigation. + +Here are a few suggestions of what Americans can report to the FBI: + + 1. Any information about espionage, sabotage, and subversive + activities. The FBI is as close to every person as the nearest + telephone. See the front of any telephone book for the FBI’s + number. + + 2. Don’t worry if the information seems incomplete or trivial. + Many times a small bit of information might furnish the data we + are seeking. + + 3. Stick to the facts. The FBI is not interested in rumor or + idle gossip. Talebearing should always be avoided. The FBI is + not interested in what a person thinks but what he does to + undermine our national security. + + 4. Don’t try to do any investigating yourself. Security + investigations require great care and effort. The innocent must + be protected as well as the guilty identified. That is the job + for the professional investigator. Hysteria, witch hunts, and + vigilantes weaken our internal security. + + 5. Be alert. America’s best defense lies in the alertness of + its patriotic citizens. + +As we have seen, identifying communists is not easy. They are trained in +deceit and trickery and use every form of camouflage and dishonesty to +advance their cause. + +For this reason we must be absolutely certain that our fight is waged +with full regard for the historic liberties of this great nation. _This +is the fundamental premise of any attack against communism._ + +Too often I have seen cases where loyal and patriotic but misguided +Americans have thought they were “fighting communism” by slapping the +label of “Red” or “communist” on anybody who happened to be different +from them or to have ideas with which they did not agree. + +Smears, character assassination, and the scattering of irresponsible +charges have no place in this nation. They create division, suspicion, +and distrust among loyal Americans—just what the communists want—and +hinder rather than aid the fight against communism. + +Another thing. Time after time in this book I have mentioned that honest +dissent should not be confused with disloyalty. A man has a right to +think as he wishes: that’s the strength of our form of government. +Without free thought our society would decay. Just because a man’s +opinion is unpopular and represents a minority viewpoint or is different +he is not necessarily disloyal. Hence, one should have the facts before +accusing anyone of propagating the Party line. + +One of the chief jobs of the FBI, fully as important as tracking down +spies, is to protect the civil rights of individuals. + +In the FBI our objective in any investigation is to secure the facts +which will establish the truth or falsity of a complaint or allegation. +We do not evaluate nor do we make recommendations for a course of action +as to whether a man should be prosecuted, hired, or removed from a job. +The FBI is strictly a fact-gathering agency, responsible, in turn, to the +Attorney General, the President, the Congress, and, in the last analysis, +to the American people. The investigative and adjudicatory processes +simply do not belong in the same organization. + +When the clouds of World War II began to lower, large segments of our +people became conscious for the first time that America was confronted +with an enemy from within. One of the disgraces of our era is that it was +ever necessary to question the loyalty of Americans. The record, however, +is clear: There were some who, using the protective cloak of the rights +of all Americans as a cover, sought to conceal traitorous and subversive +activities. + +In carrying out our responsibilities we soon became very conscious of +the fact that each allegation and complaint had to be carefully checked. +There are literally thousands of people in this country who have been the +target of accusation and thousands whose loyalty could be established +only by investigation. Most have been grateful. Some have been resentful +that they were investigated at all; but we had a job to do, and it +was done with impartiality and a zealous regard for the rights and +reputation of the individuals involved. One of the happiest moments in +our day-to-day activities is when we can establish the innocence of a man +wrongfully accused. + +Here are a few illustrations of the outcome of investigations which have +given us a feeling of satisfaction: + + A New York man changed his name to one that was more + pronounceable. He was with the Merchant Marine and the + accusation was made that he was a member of the Communist + Party; that he had been educational director of a Party section + and had signed a Communist Party petition. We investigated. We + found that the man in changing his name had taken the name of + a Communist Party member who was an educational director of + a section of the Party in New York. Beyond that, we secured + handwriting specimens of the man with the changed name, and our + laboratory technicians established that he had not signed the + Party petition. + + * * * * * + + A scientist was seeking a job with the army. The accusation + arose that he had signed a communist petition. We investigated + and found that a man with the same name and initial had signed + such a petition but he was not the scientist. + + * * * * * + + A government agency received a letter bearing a fictitious + signature stating that a government employee was working with + the Communist Party. We investigated. Our inquiry revealed + that all comment concerning the employee was highly favorable, + except for the statement of a seventy-two-year-old woman + residing in Philadelphia who was a neighbor of the government + worker. This woman advised she had overheard the employee say, + “I’m working for the Communist Party” but admitted the employee + said she had made the statement in jest. The neighbor said she + had never written any agency of the government concerning the + employee. During the investigation we secured specimens of the + elderly neighbor’s handwriting and determined she had written + the defamatory letter out of spite. + + * * * * * + + An allegation was made that a former army officer was the + nephew of a French communist leader and maintained a close + relationship with him. Our investigation disclosed that the two + men had the same name, but were not related. The only contact + the army officer ever had with the French communist leader was + when he met the Frenchman on one occasion and inquired as to + his ancestry. + +When a citizen thinks he has been wrongfully accused of communist +activity, we, as a matter of long-standing policy, are more than happy +to receive any statement he might care to make. Then, if we receive a +future allegation, his statement will be on file and can be considered in +connection with any investigation we are called on to make. + +As I have stated, time after time FBI investigations exonerate +the innocent. The latest scientific knowledge, finger-prints, new +investigative techniques, careful training of our special agents in +the mechanics and ethics of conducting good investigations—all these +represent the assurance that the FBI is zealously protecting not only the +internal security of the nation but also the rights, life, and property +of the individual. + +There are some who feel that a national police agency should be +established to meet and handle all phases of the communist menace, +since under the present structure of government many agencies have a +responsibility for internal security. This, they say, would cut through +the “red tape,” centralize all investigations and determinations, and +make for more “efficiency.” I disagree. This nation has no need for a +national police. Such an agency would be contrary to American tradition. +The present system of cooperation among the nation’s law-enforcement +agencies is completely adequate to meet the needs. Weaknesses do exist. +They lie not in the system itself but in its implementation. These +weaknesses can be and are being overcome. + +What can one do in the fight against communism? + +I repeat: a lot. Always remember that this fight is something which must +be carried on soberly, seriously, and, above all, _responsibly_. Our best +weapons are facts and the truth. “And ye shall know the truth, and the +truth shall make you free.” Don Whitehead in his book, _The FBI Story_, +in concluding his study of the FBI and its problems stated the case most +accurately when he said: + + The top command of the FBI have no illusions that communism + can be destroyed in the United States by the investigation, + prosecution and conviction of Communist Party leaders who + conspire to overthrow the government by force and violence. + That is merely one phase of the job to be done in a world-wide + struggle. + + The FBI knows that the bigger job lies with the free world’s + intellectuals—the philosophers, the thinkers wherever they may + be, the professors and scientists and scholars and students. + These people who think, the intellectuals if you please, are + the ones who can and must convince men that communism is evil. + The world’s intellectuals themselves must see that communism is + the deadliest enemy that intellectualism and liberalism ever + had. They must be as willing to dedicate themselves to this + cause as the Communists have been to dedicate themselves to + their cause. + + + + +_Part VII_ + +CONCLUSION + + + + +23. + +_Communism: A False Religion_ + + +Something utterly new has taken root in America during the past +generation, a communist mentality representing a systematic, purposive, +and conscious attempt to destroy Western civilization and roll history +back to the age of barbaric cruelty and despotism, all in the name of +“progress.” Evil is depicted as good, terror as justice, hate as love, +and obedience to a foreign master as patriotism. + +Numerically speaking, this mentality is limited to a few men and women, +the disciplined corps of the Communist Party, USA. However, communist +thought control, in all its various capacities, has spread the infection, +in varying degrees, to most phases of American life. + +This mentality, imported to our land for the purpose of eventually +leading to a destruction of the American way of life, poses a crucial +problem for every one of us. It can destroy our constitutional republic +if it is permitted to corrupt our minds and control our acts. + +I have tried to make the tactics of the Communist Party as clear as +possible in this book. These tactics are part of world-wide communism and +are offered as bait to divert and capture our minds. + +In our tolerance for religious freedom, for separation of church +and state, we sometimes lose sight of the historical fact: Western +civilization has deep religious roots. Our schools, courts, legislative +bodies, social agencies, philanthropic organizations as well as our +churches are witnesses to the fundamental fact that life has a +significance that we ourselves do not create. + +It is part of our tradition and belief that each of us is obligated to +give, when reality requires it, a reason for the faith that is in him. +The presence of communism in the world and in our own country is a kind +of stern reality which should make each of us explore our own faith as +deeply as we can and then speak up for its relationship to our “American +way.” + +The very essence of our faith in democracy and our fellow man is rooted +in a belief in a Supreme Being. To my mind there are six aspects to our +democratic faith: + + 1. A belief in the dignity and worth of the individual, a + belief which today is under assault by the communist practice + which regards the individual as a part of the “class,” the + “mass,” and a pawn of the state; + + 2. A belief in mutual responsibility, of our obligation to + “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for the less + fortunate,” which is affronted by communist policies of + calculated ruthlessness; + + 3. A belief that life has a meaning which transcends any + manmade system, that is independent of any such system, and + that outlasts any such system, a belief diametrically opposed + by the materialistic dogma of communism; + + 4. A belief in stewardship, a feeling that a great heritage + is our sacred trust for the generations yet to come, a belief + that stands today as the competitor to communist loyalty to + Marxism-Leninism; + + 5. A belief that the moral values we adhere to, support, and + strive toward are grounded on a reality more enduring and + satisfying than any manmade system, which is opposed by the + communist claim that all morality is “class morality”; + + 6. A belief, which has matured to a firm conviction, that in + the final analysis love is the greatest force on earth and + is far more enduring than hatred; this forbids our accepting + the communist division of mankind that by arbitrary standards + singles out those fit only for liquidation. + +It is only as we thus take stock of what we mean by saying that our +culture has religious roots that we become ready to make an accurate +appraisal of communist ideology and tactics. + +The most basic of all communist comments about religion is the statement +of Karl Marx that religion is “the opium of the people.” This Marxian +doctrine has been restated by William Z. Foster and applied to communist +action in these words, “... God will be banished from the laboratories as +well as from the schools.” + +Inherited from fanatic minds abroad, this mentality poses today a crucial +problem for every patriotic man and woman in America. If allowed to +develop, it will destroy our way of life. + +Communists have always made it clear that communism is the mortal enemy +of Christianity, Judaism, Mohammedanism, and any other religion that +believes in a Supreme Being. + +Don’t think that “the communists have changed their minds about +religion,” said Nikita Khrushchev. “We remain the Atheists that we have +always been; we are doing as much as we can to liberate those people who +are still under the spell of this religious opiate.” As long as communism +remains, the assault will continue. + +To the communists Marxism-Leninism is the “perfect science.” It accounts +for everything; it has a plan for everything: it can be the source of +everything man needs. Therefore, said Lenin, “We shall always preach a +scientific philosophy; we must fight against the inconsistencies of the +‘Christians’....” + +In making Marxism-Leninism the “perfect science,” the communists +characterize religion as a superstitious relic. “Religion, in its +thousands of varieties,” said William Z. Foster, “was first evolved by +primitive man everywhere as the most logical explanation he could devise +of the complex, mysterious and often terrifying natural phenomena with +which he was surrounded, as well as to work out a plausible conception of +his own and the world’s existence.” + +Though “historically inevitable” for primitive man, Foster goes on +to say, religion has now been made obsolete by science. Science, +as it advanced, gave “irrefutable materialist explanations” of the +phenomena which puzzled primitive man. Hence, “in the modern world ... +there is therefore no longer ... even the possibility, of a religious +interpretation of man and the world.” “It has now become virtually +impossible for a thoroughly modern person, even if he wants to do +so, actually to believe the old legends, primitive philosophies, and +imaginary history upon which all religions are founded.” + +This communist teaching glosses over the fact that science never +has given an “irrefutable” explanation of ultimate reality, neither +materialistic nor any other kind. The communists ignore the further fact +that the faith of religious people is a moral necessity and a sense of +personal relationship, not a completion of laboratory science. + +In addition to dismissing religion as primitive, the communists claim +that it is a mere instrument of exploitation: another weapon in the hands +of the capitalists. As Lenin said: “Religion is a kind of spiritual +intoxicant, in which the slaves of capital drown their humanity, and +blunt their desire for a decent human existence.” + +Again: “... it is quite natural for the exploiters to sympathize with a +religion that teaches us to bear ‘uncomplainingly’ the woes of hell on +earth, in the hope of an alleged paradise in the skies.” + +William Z. Foster, who in our country emphasizes the same theme, and who +has always emphasized the correct Party line, declared, “... the Church +... has identified itself with political reaction.” And again, “... the +Church is one of the basic forces now fighting to preserve obsolete +capitalism and its reactionary ruling classes, in the face of advancing +democracy and socialism.” + +The followers of Marx have a way of calling _scientific_ any dogma to +which they intend to cling, regardless of whether it can be supported +by conclusive evidence. And communism has to cling to its antireligious +dogma, not for scientific reasons, but for reasons of ideology and +strategy. It cannot permit man to give his allegiance to a Supreme +Authority higher than Party authority, for such allegiance to a higher +authority carries with it a sense of freedom, of immunity to Party edict +and discipline. Neither can it afford to have its members made hesitant +in acts of cruelty and deception, which are ordained parts of its +revolutionary program. No communist can be permitted to set an abstract +truth above an expedient lie, or to extend compassion to an enemy +whom the Party intends to smear or liquidate. The communists dismiss +our sentiments motivated by spiritual force as silly prattlings that +reflect “bourgeois weaknesses.” Therefore, they have their own morality, +communist morality, as stated by Lenin: + + We repudiate all morality that is taken outside of human, class + concepts.... We say that our morality is entirely subordinated + to the interests of the class struggle.... + +Lenin made clear the function of communist morality: “At the root of +Communist morality, there lies the continuation and completion of +Communism.” In practice this has simply meant that the end justifies the +means. That is why a communist can commit murder, pillage, destruction, +and terror, and feel proud; lie and feel no compunction; seek to destroy +the American form of government and feel justified. Communism has turned +the values of Western civilization upside down. + +Hatred of all gods was Karl Marx’s credo. Yet communism is, in effect, +a secular religion with its own roster of gods, its own Messianic zeal, +and its own fanatical devotees who are willing to accept any personal +sacrifice that furthers the cause. + +It would seem that communists, in view of the above, would make clear, +always and at every point, their opposition to religion. Often, however, +tactics have made it necessary to play down or to conceal entirely the +Party’s intentions in line with Lenin’s advice: “... but this does not +mean that the religious question must be pushed into the foreground where +it does not belong.” The communists realize that the vast majority of +noncommunists believe in God. Too bold an approach might antagonize them, +doing the Party more harm than good. + +In the early days, before Party discipline was established, Lenin +counseled: “The Anarchist, who preaches war against God at all costs, +actually helps the ... bourgeoisie....” William Z. Foster, rebuking the +extreme left, said that some of their efforts at “God killing” served +only for “... overstress and distortion of the religious question.” + +By 1937 such tactical caution was beginning to be replaced by a +calculated program to exploit religion. Foster called this the “... more +recent practical approach to the religious question, on the basis long +ago laid by Lenin.” + +This “practical approach” means attempting, through deceptive tactics, to +capture support from American religious groups for an atheistic Communist +Party. As Foster put it in 1937: + + In consequence, the antireligious Communist Party is now to be + found in close united front cooperation with dozens of churches + and other religious organizations on questions of immediate + economic and political interest to the toiling masses. + +In line with these tactics, the Party is today engaged in a systematic +program to infiltrate American religious groups. “The Communist Party,” +said the National Committee in 1954, “declares that it seeks no conflict +with any church or any American’s religious belief. On the contrary, we +stretch out our hand in the fellowship of common struggle for our mutual +goal of peace, democracy and security to all regardless of religious +belief.” Members are being told: “Join churches and become involved in +church work.” + +The Party’s objectives inside religious groups are several: + +1. _To gain “respectability”_: “... a church is the best front we can +have.” Comrades, by associating in church circles, secure an “acceptable” +status in the community, greater credence for their opinions, and the +lulling of noncommunist suspicions. + +2. _To provide an opportunity for the subtle dissemination of communist +propaganda._ Churches are convincing places in which to identify +communist programs with such genuine religious values as “peace,” +“brotherhood,” “justice.” One member bragged how in a church talk he had +“plugged” for Marx. The communists are careful, however, not to overdo +it. One fellow was too ambitious. He was challenged by alert church +members and relieved of his leadership duties. + +3. _To make contact with youth_: through class discussions, recreational +affairs, etc. The object is not necessarily to recruit (although in +one church several young people did join) but to plant a seed of +Marxist-Leninist thought. + +4. _To exploit the church in the Party’s day-to-day agitational program._ +In the 1930’s and 1940’s the approach was chiefly through “immediate +economic and political” problems, with the Party attempting to exploit +the church’s legitimate interest in better housing and the elimination of +social injustices. + +Today this tactic is overshadowed by the “peace” issue. Every possible +deceptive device is being used to link the Party’s “peace” program with +the church. One Communist Party section issued instructions that every +clergyman in the community be contacted to give a sermon on “peace.” +Encourage “Party church members” to organize discussion groups, perhaps +showing a “peace” film. If possible, circulate “peace” literature. If you +can’t get inside, stand outside. One organizer said: “We are to dress up +like other people and stand outside churches in our neighborhoods and use +the slogan, ‘Peace on earth, good will toward men.’” + +5. _To enlarge the area of Party contacts._ One Party section advocated: +Join small churches (100 to 500 membership), so that one can more easily +work himself into a position of leadership. Make as many personal +contacts as possible. Learn where the church member works, what his +hobbies are, etc. Someday he might be used. One Party member, active in +youth work, learned that the parents of several young people were working +in an industrial plant. Securing this information was most important, he +said. + +6. _To influence clergymen._ A dedicated clergyman, being a man of God, +is a mortal enemy of communism. But if he can, by conversion, influence, +or trickery, be made to support the communist program once or a few times +or many times, the Party gains. If, for example, a clergyman can be +persuaded to serve as sponsor or officer of a communist front, to issue +a testimonial or to sign a clemency petition for a communist “victim of +persecution,” his personal prestige lends weight to the cause. + +The church, in communist eyes, is an “enemy” institution to be +infiltrated, subverted, and bent to serve Party aims. Any successes make +the comrades diabolically happy. One member, talking to her communist +friends, laughed about prayers in church. “Who wants to hear such stuff, +but what can I do? That’s the only way I can get in there.” + +We might expect, considering the importance of materialism in communist +theory, that the Party’s constitution would set forth atheism as a basic +principle of communism. But “... we do not declare,” said Lenin, “and +must not declare in our programme that we are ‘Atheists’....” + +The Party’s aim, in addition to that of exploiting the church, is to +neutralize religion as an effective counterweapon. At present virtually +nothing is being said in open Party propaganda that is antireligious. +Pamphlet after pamphlet is issued on civil rights, “peace,” “democracy”; +very few on religion. Communists in the United States, however, are on +record in regard to their views on religion: for example, Earl Browder, +_Communism in the United States_ (1935), pages 334-49; William Z. Foster, +_The Twilight of World Capitalism_ (1949), pages 87-99 and “Reply to a +Priest’s Letter,” _Political Affairs_ (October, 1954). Also, a pamphlet, +_Science and Religion_, by Marcel Cachin (1946), editor of _L’Humanité_, +French communist newspaper, has been circulated. + +If members are forced to present the Party’s views, they are instructed +to stress, as Lenin did, that religion is a “private matter” for the +individual, and to pose as “tolerant.” Doesn’t the Party’s constitution +say that a person is eligible for membership “regardless of ... religious +belief”? The object here is to dull the vigilance of the noncommunist +mind and to make religious belief appear as something minor, secondary, +and inconsequential. + +When tactically expedient, the communists even liken themselves to the +early Christian martyrs suffering persecution for attempting to aid +mankind. + +One cartoon published in _The Worker_ shows a sketch of Christ in the +form of a wanted criminal. The caption reads: _REWARD for Information +Leading to the Apprehension of_— + + JESUS CHRIST + + WANTED—for Sedition, Criminal Anarchy, Vagrancy, and Conspiring + to Overthrow the Established Government + + Dresses poorly. _Said_ to be a carpenter by trade, ill + nourished, has visionary ideas, associates with common working + people, the unemployed and bums ... Alias: “Prince of Peace. + Son of Man” ... _Professional agitator._ + + Red beard, marks on hands and feet the result of injuries + inflicted by an angry mob led by respectable citizens and legal + authorities. + +A _Daily Worker_ writer, reviewing a movie in which the background was +laid in the early Christian era, says: “Some interesting parallels can be +found between the persecution of the Christians shown in the film and the +political jailings in the United States today.” + +Behind these deceptive tactics, however, can be seen the real nature +of communism. For the member, religion is _not_ a private affair. No +tolerance is allowed. He cannot be a Marxist and adhere to a religion. +The Party is today desperately working to mold atheistic materialism as a +weapon of revolution, a revolution which, if it is to succeed, must first +sap religion’s spiritual strength and then destroy it. + +The Party’s attack can be traced through four stages: + +1. _Recruitment_: keyed to the Party’s general approach toward +noncommunists, the issue of religion is minimized. “Try to win recruits +on the basis of wages and the class struggle rather than religion,” and, +“Go ahead and tell a fellow you believe in God to keep from getting into +an argument.” Likewise it is urged, “If we approach a church-goer we +do not hit him over the head and tell him his idea is crazy. We take a +tactical approach....” + +Lenin’s advice still holds: “We must not only admit ... all those workers +who still retain faith in God, we must redouble our efforts to recruit +them. We are absolutely opposed to the slightest affront to these +workers’ religious convictions. We recruit them in order to educate them +in the spirit of our programme....” + +2. _Early indoctrination_: keyed to patience if recruits continue to +attend church after joining the Party. They must be gradually “educated.” +If new members begin to ask questions, they are to be made to feel, +not that their fellow communists are trying to take away their belief, +but that these communists are “advanced thinkers,” that they hold a +“scientific” concept of the universe, and that religion is to them simply +“old-fashioned.” Typical of what members are told are these comments made +by communist leaders: + + —“How silly to think there is a God.” + + —“Religion comes from primitive man’s worship of such things as + thunder, lightning and the sun.” + + —“Religion was used as an explanation of unanswerable + questions, such as ‘Why does it rain?’ Answer: ‘God willed it.’” + +3. _Special indoctrination_: keyed to the real job of teaching Marxist +materialism are special indoctrination classes. “Our programme thus +necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism,” said Lenin, directing +his words, of course, to Party members. + +A few statements from Party members reveal how persistent is the +communist fight against God: + + —“The concept of God is manmade and is based on ignorance.” + + —“Marxism-Leninism is a science and has solved the mysteries of + religion.” + + —“To be a true communist you have to be an atheist.” + + —“Communism will supplant religion and will keep you warm and + give you all the comforts of healthful living.” + + —“Religious people fear facts and resort to such things as + prayer to end war, but prayers are actually futile and leave + war to the capitalists while people sit around praying.” + +4. _Final goal_: the utter elimination of all religion (called “bourgeois +remnants”) from the heart, mind, and soul of man, and the total victory +of atheistic communism. Religious attitudes keep cropping up, however, +even in the trained member. One individual admitted that it had taken him +a long time to give up his religion. “It was one of the hardest parts of +my Party development.” + +Even in Soviet Russia, after a generation of the most bitter propaganda, +religion is far from exterminated. “One of the most widespread traces +of the past in the minds of the people,” said one Soviet writer, “is +religious superstition and darkness, survivals of the old, antiscientific +conceptions of nature, society and of man himself.” He adds, “The +historic victories of atheism in our country do not mean, however, +that religion is over and done with. There are still among us no few +believers, i.e., people who continue to remain in the fetters of +religion.” + +To combat these religious “remnants,” says this Soviet writer, +more antireligious propaganda is needed. “... forming an advanced, +materialist outlook in the rising generation and combating every type +of superstition and religious belief make up a most important sector in +the fight for the communist education of youth.” Another Soviet writer +states, “Convincing, profoundly reasoned propaganda of atheism which does +not offend the feelings of believers is the main characteristic of all +antireligious work at the present moment.” + +Here, then, is the fight the communist leaders wage. We do not believe +they can ever win it. These so-called “religious survivals” represent +something far deeper in man than the communists can grant: some eternal +reaching toward a creative source. But if the Party does not realize +the true nature and strength of these “survivals,” it does realize that +religion is its most potent foe. To meet this challenge no hesitant, +indifferent, half-apologetic acts on our own part can suffice. Out of the +deep roots of religion flows something warm and good, the affirmation of +love and justice; here is the source of strength for our land if we are +to remain free. It is ours to defend and to nourish. + + + + +24. + +_How to Stay Free_ + + +The communist revolution in Russia is forty years behind us. In these +four decades communism has had a chance to show what it does with +power in its hands; how it treats the people who live under it; what +its attitudes are toward law, education, science, and religion; how it +handles its relations with the noncommunist world. It stands condemned on +its own record. It has revealed basic errors in theory and practice which +will eventually bring about its downfall. To turn around Karl Marx’s +famous comment on capitalism, communism is digging its own grave. It +cannot survive because it is anti-God and anti-man. + +For all too long, communism’s true character has been concealed by its +own propaganda, abetted by public ignorance and apathy. Soviet Russia was +hailed as an “advanced democracy” and communism as “twentieth-century +Americanism.” Such phrases deceived free people and gave the Party a +protective cloak. + +Marxism-Leninism stands revealed not as a “new world” of hope and justice +but as an evil conspiracy in pursuit of power. Its cost in human misery +and waste of human life is almost beyond description. Every home in +America today is deprived of an even higher standard of living as a +result of the tax burden brought on by the utter necessity of keeping our +defenses strong against the world-wide advance of communism. + +Time has also erased the label of “scientific” from Marxist-Leninist +ideology. The communist claim of “infallible” has proved to be all +too fallible time and again. The revolution began not in a highly +industrialized state but in a backward, tyranny-ridden land where +communism meant the substitution of an even more vicious brand of +tyranny. It was conducted not as a “dictatorship of the proletariat” but +as a dictatorship by dictators who rode roughshod over the workingman. +Stalin, in the middle 1930’s, contended that socialism was at last +fully established in Russia and that the movement from then on would be +toward the second stage which Marx had foretold: true communism and the +withering away of the state. Even as Stalin spoke, in terms designed to +attract idealists, he was making the state ever more powerful. After his +death, with the “New Look” and the Khrushchev “thaw,” the trend has not +been reversed. + +Khrushchev gives the answer to those who still repeat the shabby, +deceitful phrases of communist dogma, when he desanctifies Stalin one day +and on the next day rehabilitates him as a good communist. After all, +Stalin during his life was the Chief Executioner, and Khrushchev did +his bidding, along with many of his associates who rule Russia today. +Khrushchev’s answer should never be forgotten, because by his own words +the alleged “paradise of human joy” was, in fact, a world of slave labor +camps, betrayed human rights, and calculated fear. + +The answer also comes from Mao Tse-tung, the Chinese communist dictator +who, without apparent shame, admitted that 800,000 of his fellow +countrymen had been liquidated between 1949 and the beginning of 1954. +The answer further comes from the Hungarian Freedom Fighters of 1956, who +with bare hands attacked the steel of Soviet tanks. + +The answer finally comes from those Americans who were victimized by the +communist deception of claiming credit for reforms and advances which +the Party did not deserve. Most informed Americans now know that the +communists adopt a cause only to exploit it for their own ends. Communism +does not mean better housing, improved social conditions, or a more +strict observance of civil rights. The vast majority of Negro leaders +have rebuffed the communists’ attempts to exploit them. By forcing Party +members out of positions of authority and even from union membership, +true trade unionists have shown their awareness that communists seek to +disrupt the legitimate mission of labor unions. + +Communism, in brief, has bitterly indicted communism; communist practice +has indicted communist theory; communist actions have indicated the +perverted use of such lofty words as “peace,” “justice,” and “liberty.” + +But we cannot afford the luxury of waiting for communism to run its +course like other oppressive dictatorships. The weapons of communism are +still formidable. They become even more effective when we lower our guard +and when we become lax in strengthening our democratic institutions in +perfecting the American dream. + +The call of the future must be a rekindled American faith, based on our +priceless heritage of freedom, justice, and the religious spirit. + +In our reawakening, we Americans can learn a great deal from the fight +against communism. Here are five special areas: + +1. The communists emphasize _ideological study_, meaning, of course, +Marxism-Leninism. Such study has been the very foundation of their +“monolithic unity”: their power to keep people in line no matter how the +“line” changes. Their study allows no deviation for free thought and +independent action. Also, it provides them with a “common language” since +all communists give the same meaning to words and acts. This emphasis +upon study has been the means whereby they have captured the minds of +some of our young people who read and think and who are lacking in proper +companionship. + +It is sad but true that many young people have been drawn into +communist clubs or study groups. Often they are highly intellectual +but lonely students and fall under a sinister influence. We know this +from the experiences of hundreds of former communists and from acts of +near-treason we have been called upon to investigate. + +American education, of course, does not make communists; communist +education does. Communism, to survive, must depend upon a constant +program of education, because communism needs educated people, even +though it distorts the use to which their education is put. Thus, we +need to show our young people, particularly those endowed with high +intellects, that we in our democracy need what they have to offer. + +We, as a people, have not been sufficiently articulate and forceful in +expressing pride in our traditions and ideals. In our homes and schools +we need to learn how to “let freedom ring.” In all the civilized world +there is no story which compares with America’s effort to become free and +to incorporate freedom in our institutions. This story, told factually +and dramatically, needs to become the basis for our American unity and +for our unity with all free peoples. I am sure most Americans believe +that our light of freedom is a shining light. As Americans we should +stand up, speak of it, and let the world see this light, rather than +conceal it. For too long we have had a tendency to keep silent while the +communists, their sympathizers, and their fellow travelers have been +telling the world what is wrong with democracy. Suppose every American +spent a little time each day, less than the time demanded by the +communists, in studying the Bible and the basic documents of American +history, government, and culture? The result would be a new America, +vigilant, strong, but ever humble in the service of God. + +2. Then there is the training of _youth_, on whom the communists place +so much emphasis. To the Party, youth is not something auxiliary but an +important training ground. We must meet this challenge. America must +devote the best of her efforts to make youth responsible, conscious +of its obligations, and eager to be good citizens. Experience and +observation point to certain facts which we need to consider in providing +for youth. + +First, youth gravitates toward youth. The young person who feels left +out may remain a “solitary.” Or he may, according to his background and +make-up, join a delinquent gang. He may join a Party front or club. Or he +may find some other short cut to a sense of belonging. But every American +youth has a right to find some place within a group that expresses rather +than contradicts the real values of society. + +Second, given half a chance, youth gravitates toward companionship +with competent, generous, and experienced adults. Practically all my +life I have been face to face with young people becoming involved in +difficulties or coming under the communist spell. Invariably I have +discovered that they all had one thing in common. In their early years +and in the periods of their lives when their transgressions began to take +form, they could not talk things over with their parents. Their parents +were either too busy, or not interested, or resented any difference of +opinion. Or parents simply doled out “final” answers when the young +people wanted to try to think things through. + +Our youth want not only to talk to adults, they want to work with adults. +It is a fine thing for them to have their own groups, but it is better +if, in addition, they can participate in shared projects with adults. +If the adults can show, in action, that it is possible to combine high +idealism with solid practicality and patience, the results will enhance +character and citizenship development manyfold. + +3. The communists stress _action_. This means carrying out our +responsibilities now—not tomorrow, the next day, or never. To communists +the Party means continual action, not just talk, waiting for annual +elections, meetings, or affairs. With us action must supplement good +intentions in building the America of the future. We need to provide our +youth with activity groups. To give them only a high standard of material +advantages or a constant diet of recreation is not enough. Recreation +must be made part of a life of responsibility, otherwise it becomes +merely a preface to boredom. Our young people, as well as adults, need to +be working members of our republic and citizens on duty at all times. + +4. Communists accent the _positive_. In their deceptive and perverted way +they are always purporting to stand for something positive. “Better,” +“higher,” etc., are trade-marks in their language. We, too, in the true +sense of the word, should strive for goals that are genuinely better, +higher, and more noble, trying to improve self, community, and nation. A +strictly negative attitude or the philosophy of just staying afloat—all +too common today—will never meet the impact of the communist challenge. + +5. Most important of all is _faith_. Let us not blind ourselves to the +fact that communists do have a “faith.” True, it is falsely placed, but +still it inspires them to sacrifice, devotion, and a perverted idealism. + +The late Mother Bloor, the Party’s woman “hero,” often praised Walt +Whitman’s “The Mystic Trumpeter” as the poem she loved best. It seemed, +she said, to prophesy the coming of a “new world”: + + War, sorrow, suffering gone—the rank earth purged—nothing but joy left! + The ocean fill’d with joy—the atmosphere all joy! + Joy! joy! in freedom, worship, love! joy in the ecstasy of life! + Enough to merely be! enough to breathe! Joy! joy! all over joy! + +She is trying to identify communism with the dream of a world of joy. She +is exploiting Walt Whitman. Yet her feeling shows the lure of communist +“faith.” If communists can be so inspired from error, falsehood, and +hate, just think what we could do with truth, justice, and love! I thrill +to think of the even greater wonders America could fashion from its rich, +glorious, and deep tradition. All we need is faith, _real faith_. + +The communist prides himself on being a revolutionary—and revolutionary +he is in the sense of destruction, terror, and violence. Free man can +learn here too: the truly revolutionary force of history is not material +power but the spirit of religion. The world today needs a true revolution +of the fruitful spirit, not the futile sword. Hypocrisy, dishonesty, +hatred, all these must be destroyed and man must rule by love, charity, +and mercy. + +The Party’s effort to create “communist man,” to mold a revolutionary +fighter completely subservient to the Party’s desires, is destined to +fail. The power of bullets, tanks, and repression will bulwark tyranny +just so long. Then, as the Hungarian Freedom Fighters proved, man’s +innate desire for freedom will flare up stronger than ever. In communism +we see what happens when freedom is extinguished. This must give us +renewed zeal to work untiringly to uphold the ideals of justice and +liberty which have made this nation great. + +With God’s help, America will remain a land where people still know how +to be free and brave. + + + + +GLOSSARY + +and + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + + + + +_Glossary_ + + +This glossary contains terms frequently used by communists. Their +meanings are derived largely from communist “classics,” or books written +by Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin (For a more complete definition of +communist “classics,” see Bibliography, page 328.) + + +BOLSHEVIK: + +1. Refers to a type of communist organization, namely, Lenin’s Party, of +a small, selective membership, comprised of highly trained professional +revolutionaries insolubly linked to each other by the deepest +revolutionary convictions and discipline. The term “bolshevik” stems from +the Russian word _bolshinstvo_, meaning majority. In the 1903 Congress +of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, a dispute occurred over +whether membership should be tightly controlled (Lenin’s idea) or be open +to sympathizers also. Lenin’s opinion was accepted. Hence, his supporters +became known as Bolsheviks (majority); his opponents as Mensheviks +(minority). + +2. Refers to a certain type of Party member, namely, the model, heroic, +ideal type of communist. It is a term of high praise and distinction +for communists, signifying superiority and mastery of the qualities of +revolutionary leadership, efficiency, courage. Hence the terms “bolshevik +courage,” “bolshevik culture,” “bolshevik discipline.” “Bolshevization of +the Party” means to make the Party a model of communist perfection. + + +BOURGEOISIE: + +Term applied to the “capitalist” class, which includes not only the +wealthy but also middle-class people. Sometimes “petty bourgeoisie” +is used to distinguish small businessmen, minor government officials, +etc., from the more wealthy “capitalists” and high-ranking officials. +To communists the bourgeoisie is a class enemy which must be destroyed. +“Bourgeois” is the adjective form of bourgeoisie, hence, “bourgeois +virtue.” So used, the word describes anything or anybody whom communists +would ridicule or hold in contempt. The term “bourgeois survivals,” +or “bourgeois remnants,” refers to so-called “capitalist” (that is, +noncommunist) attitudes and institutions not yet obliterated by communism. + + +CADRE: + +The trusted inner circle of trained members and leaders on whom the Party +can depend to carry out its policies and programs without any questions +or objections. From cadres will emerge functionaries, officials, +organizers. “The Party cadres constitute the commanding staff of the +Party....” (_Stalin_) + + +CAPITALISM: + +To communists, capitalism is an economic system based on the private +ownership of property, the private control of the means of production, +and the private accumulation and use of profits. As such, communists +consider capitalism to be a form of exploitation of man by man. To +them, capitalism is the last economic system of exploitation in the +social evolution of man. Born as the result of overthrowing feudalism, +capitalism, in turn, from its own inner contradictions, will be succeeded +by socialism as a transitory stage that will end in a world communist +society. + + +CENTRISM: + +A term of contempt to communists, signifying those who try to pursue +a “middle-of-the-road” position, thereby denying full and undeviating +obedience to the Party line. “... and finally, there are the +‘Centrists,’ those who wobble between the ‘Lefts’ and the Rights.... +Centrism is a political concept. Its ideology is one of adaptation, of +subordination of the interests of the proletariat to the interests of +the petty-bourgeoisie in the _same_ party. This ideology is alien and +contrary to Leninism.” (_Stalin_) + + +CHAUVINISM: + +A term of bad repute to communists signifying that one nation, race, +group, or individual assumes an attitude of biased superiority. Within +the Party structure chauvinism (which can occur in various forms) often +results in disciplinary action and becomes a weapon whereby the ruling +clique can bring charges against opponents for the purpose of weakening +or destroying them. + + +CLASS: + +By the word “class,” communists mean a section of a given population that +occupies a specific relation to the means of production. For example, +the capitalists own land, mines, factories, and the like. The workers +or laborers do not own such possessions but work on the land and in the +mines and factories. Therefore, there are two main classes in society: +(1) the capitalist or bourgeoisie, and (2) the wage-earners or working +class or proletariat. The communists admit that in highly developed +capitalist nations (as the United States) there is another group, the +“middle class” or “petty bourgeoisie,” composed of minor merchants, small +farmers, professional people, small businessmen, etc. The communists +believe the “middle class” can be influenced to support the proletariat. + + +CLASS STRUGGLE: + +To the communists the two basic classes in capitalist society, the +bourgeoisie and proletariat, are in constant and inevitable economic +conflict. This struggle is a continuation of the age-old conflict, say +the communists, between the exploiters and the exploited; the rulers and +the ruled; those who own the means of production and the great masses +of the people who possess nothing but their capacity for laboring. In +the early days this class struggle was between the slave owner and +the slave (slavery), later between the feudal lords and the serfs +(feudalism). Eventually, the communists claim, the capitalists will be +defeated through violent revolution; and by applying the dictatorship of +the proletariat, communist society will be established. The communists +are constantly encouraging class struggle, trying to increase social, +economic, and political tensions. To them class struggle is an agency for +promoting communism. “Can the capitalists be forced out and the roots +of capitalism be annihilated without a bitter class struggle? No, it is +impossible.” (_Stalin_) + + +COMMUNISM (MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM): + +A system of thought and action originated by Karl Marx and Friedrich +Engels, developed by V. I. Lenin, continued by Joseph Stalin and +his successors. This system advocates, among other things: (1) a +materialistic explanation of the origin of man and the universe; (2) +a comprehensive economic interpretation of history centering about +the class struggle; (3) abolition of the noncommunist state, which is +conceived to be an instrument of exploitation; (4) a revolutionary +theory, method, and a flexible course of action to overthrow the state +and the capitalistic system; (5) a moral code based on utility; on +nonsupernatural class concepts; (6) abolition of all religions; (7) a +world-wide communist revolution; and (8) a world-wide communist society. + + +COMMUNISM (primitive): + +A type of communal living reported to have existed in early stages of +man’s history. To Marxists there was no private ownership, hence, no +class divisions, class exploitation, or state mechanism. + + +COMMUNISM (stages of development): + +Marxism-Leninism says communism will develop through two basic stages: +_First or lower stage_ (called socialism), which is the type of society +that will be formed immediately after the communist revolution. This is +an “impure” communist society, freshly emerged from the violent conflict +and bearing, in the words of Marx, “... in every respect, economic, moral +and intellectual, the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it is +issuing.” In this phase, organs of the state (such as police, army, etc.) +are necessary and are exercised by the dictatorship of the proletariat, +crushing the opposition of the bourgeoisie. During this transitory +stage the main principle will be “from each according to his ability, +to each according to his work.” (This is the stage of the dictatorship +of the proletariat, symbolized by the terrorism that now prevails in +all communist countries.) However, after an unspecified period of time +(just when, no communist can say), as people become indoctrinated to the +principles of Marxism-Leninism, all the capitalistic characteristics +will disappear and the state will slowly “wither away” as the threshold +of the _higher or final stage_ (communism) will be reached. This stage +will be stateless, classless, godless, where all property will be held +in common and human activities will conform to the principle “from each +according to his abilities, to each according to his needs.” The lower +phase implies controlled, planned, and ordered work; the higher, free +association and voluntary work. (This false appeal to a communist Utopia +is one of the Party’s most potent weapons for deception.) + + +COMPROMISE (MANEUVER, CONCESSIONS): + +Tactics whereby, in order to promote the ultimate goal of communism, +adjustments and temporary agreements can be made with the enemy, that is, +the noncommunist world. “Concessions do not mean peace with capitalism, +but war on a new plane.” (_Lenin_) + + +DEMOCRACY: + +In discussing the communist concept of democracy, distinction must be +made between what the Party calls _bourgeois democracy_ and _proletarian +democracy_. The communists claim that “bourgeois” or “capitalist” +democracy (as in the United States) is limited, repressive, and favors +the minority; “... in capitalist society we have a democracy that is +curtailed, wretched, false; a democracy only for the rich, for the +minority.” (_Lenin_) After seizure of power the communists then will +inaugurate, they say, “proletarian” democracy (as in Hungary and Russia), +which will be “... a million times more democratic than any bourgeois +democracy.” Here the dictatorship of the proletariat will be in power, +utterly crushing any capitalist opposition. Eventually, however, this +“proletarian” democracy will be supplanted by full communism, which, +among other things, will be stateless. Basically the communists abhor +democracy as practiced in the United States, believing, as they do, in +dictatorship, force and violence, and the supreme authority of the Party. +However, the Party seeks to utilize “capitalist” democracy and its rights +(of which it falsely claims to be a protector) in order to promote its +own cause. + + +DEMOCRATIC CENTRALISM: + +The rigid principle that the decisions of the highest body in the +Communist Party (even though it be dominated by one man) are binding upon +all lower bodies or organizational units in the Party. + + +DEVIATION: + +The departure from the policy and line established by the Party. It may +either be to the left (known as left-wing sectarianism) or to the right +(right-wing opportunism). Regardless, any deviation from a 100 per cent +acceptance of the Party line is regarded as a serious situation and a +matter for disciplinary action. Obviously, any original thinking or +varied interpretations of Party policy are impossible. + + +DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM: + +The philosophy and world outlook that undergirds communism. “Dialectical +materialism is the world outlook of the Marxist-Leninist party. It is +called dialectical materialism because its approach to the phenomena of +nature, its methods of studying and apprehending them, is _dialectical_, +while its interpretation of the phenomena of nature, its conception +of these phenomena, its theory, is _materialistic_.” (_Stalin_) See +=DIALECTICS= and =MATERIALISM=. + + +DIALECTICS (DIALECTICAL): + +One of the most frequently used terms in communist literature. The word +is derived from the Greek, meaning the art of discourse, reasoning, and +debate. To communists the stress in dialectics (the process of argument +and counterargument to reach a higher meaning) is placed on change, +the ceaseless ebb and flow of material elements. To them the world is +constantly changing; nothing is eternal. All political and economic +systems have within themselves the seeds of their own destruction, and +as time passes they decay and give way to higher forms of existence in +man’s climb up the ladder of progress. This change, however, is not just +for the sake of change alone, but follows a specific direction (such a +type of change is called _revolutionary change_), from the lower to the +higher, meaning a change from the lower stages of man’s development, +slavery, feudalism, and capitalism, to his highest—that is, world-wide +communism. When this final stage is reached, say the communists, change +will stop, since “full” communism conforms perfectly to the revolutionary +nature of matter. Unlike other systems of life, communism claims not to +contain within itself the seeds of destruction. It should be emphasized +that even though noncommunist thinkers time after time have pointed out +the inconsistencies, fallacies, and errors of this concept, communists +cling to it with undying devotion. + + +DICTATORSHIP OF THE PROLETARIAT: + +One of the most fundamental of communist concepts, meaning the forcible +dictatorship of the Communist Party (conceived as the vanguard of the +workers), whereby capitalist opposition is crushed after the seizure of +power. It is also viewed as a transitional period between the revolution +and the final goal—communism. The dictatorship of the proletariat is one +of the most brutal of communist concepts, being based on naked force and +violence, not law. “The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is +power won and maintained by the violence of the proletariat against the +bourgeoisie, power that is unrestricted by any laws.” (_Lenin_) + + +DISCIPLINE: + +A cardinal feature in maintaining the monolithic unity of the Party. +Discipline becomes a whip binding the membership under the authority of +the Party, stifling free opinion and making for uniformity. A Communist +Party without a ruthless discipline would be unthinkable. + + +FACTION (FACTIONALISM): + +A grouping of members of the Communist Party around one or more ideas +that are at variance with the Party line. Factionalism is the conflict +caused by the presence of such factions. The monolithic structure and +strong discipline of the Party usually result in the brutal crushing or +expulsion of factions. In communist theory and practice there can be no +freedom of dissent. + + +FORCE AND VIOLENCE: + +The necessary means whereby, according to the communists, the existing or +old society will be finally overthrown and the new or communist society +established. “Force is the midwife of every old society pregnant with a +new one.” (_Marx_) “The replacement of the bourgeois by the proletarian +state is impossible without a violent revolution.” (_Lenin_) + + +HISTORIC MISSION: + +To communists this means the seizure of power, the establishment of +the dictatorship of the proletariat, the abolition of capitalism, and +the formation of the new, communist, society. As the vanguard of the +proletariat the Communist Party has as its “historic mission” the +direction of the proletarian struggle toward a communist society. + + +IMPERIALISM: + +The highest, the most developed, and last stage of a “moribund” and +“decaying” capitalism. As worked out by Lenin, imperialism develops when +capital and production (in a capitalist society) become concentrated in +the hands of a relatively few individuals on high economic levels. This +causes, according to Lenin, capitalist exploitation in colonial areas, +as capital seeks an outlet for greater markets. This monopoly stage +of capitalism “causes” imperialist wars, as rival capitalist systems +struggle with each other (this was Lenin’s diagnosis of World War I). +To modern-day communists, the United States is now in this stage of +imperialism. + + +INEVITABILITY: + +To communists the final outcome of the struggle between communists and +noncommunists has already been decided in favor of the communists, due to +the very nature of the struggle. They consider the victory of communism +to be inevitable because it is a “necessary product of historical +development.” They view progress to be from slavery to feudalism, to +capitalism, to imperialism, to communism. + + +MARXISM-LENINISM: + +See =COMMUNISM (MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM)=. + + +MASSES: + +The ordinary people of a society who are not “educated” in the science +of Marxism-Leninism and hence must be led by the proletariat and its +vanguard, the Communist Party, toward the goal of a communist society. +“Radicalizing the masses” signifies efforts by the Party, through +agitation, to make the masses more sympathetic to communist aims. + + +MATERIALISM: + +A view of reality which asserts that (1) matter is the basic reality +and God does not exist; (2) the universe and all life on it can be +explained in terms of motion and matter; (3) human values should center +around material considerations, satisfactions and pleasures; and (4) +the interpretation of human history must rest on material elements. +Materialism is as old as man, but Marx claimed that his form of +materialism (linked with dialectics) was the only complete and true form. +The main premise of materialism is atheism, and hence the denial of God +and all values which stem from religion. This fight against religion has +been one of the Party’s most basic principles. Under communism, ethics +and morality become completely transformed, being based not on religion +but on Party expediency. The results have been devastating—that millions +of men and women have suffered and died in the name of a perverted +“justice” and “goodness.” + +(Materialism as here defined should not be confused with the popular +conception of the term denoting inordinate desire for material goods, +thirst for power, undisciplined sensual appetites, or the hunger for the +passing fame and glory of the world.) + + +OPPORTUNISM (RIGHT-WING): + +Represents one type of deviation from the Party line, to the right, hence +right-wing opportunism. This deviation is characterized as too much +cooperation with capitalism, causing the Party to lose its identity as +the “leader of the masses.” This was the error of Browder. + + +PARTY: + +Organizational concept evolved by Lenin of those trained in +Marxism-Leninism who, regarding themselves as a “vanguard,” are to lead +the proletariat (and hence the masses) toward a communist world society. +Under communism the Party becomes all-powerful, directing all phases of +activity. Strict standards of membership are set, the most important +being that members must be completely obedient to Party wishes. + + +PARTY LINE: + +The sum total of the Party’s decisions, aims, programs, and demands at +any given time. Distinction must always be made between the “deceptive” +Party line (that is, the programs designed for public consumption) and +the “real” Party line (the true Party purpose designed to advance the +interests of communism). The Party line often switches, sometimes very +violently in various areas. + + +PHILISTINE: + +Any person who believes in communism but is timid and shrinks from class +struggle. He is a “fair-weather” soldier who supports communism when it +is easy to do so but deserts when the going becomes rough. Philistinism +is a term of abuse. “What is a philistine? A hollow gut, full of fear +and hope, that God have mercy!” (_Lenin_) Communists would include some +socialists, reformists, and liberals in this definition. + + +PROFESSIONAL REVOLUTIONARIES: + +Those Party members, thoroughly educated in Marxism-Leninism, who +dedicate their entire lives to the Party. This body (cadre) of members, +in communist eyes, represents the shock troops of revolution. “Give us +an organisation of revolutionaries, and we shall overturn the whole of +Russia!” (_Lenin_) + + +PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM: + +The belief that communism is international in nature, that the +proletariat of all nations, irrespective of race, nationality, creed, or +color, constitutes a single class and must cooperate for the ultimate +victory of communism. This gives a feeling of solidarity (communists +always feel a part of a larger body, they don’t stand alone); creates +fanaticism (the feeling that as long as there are noncommunist nations, +communism is in danger, hence they must be destroyed); promotes control +of the international communist movement by Soviet Russia (as the big +brother of all other Parties). + + +PROLETARIAT: + +A key word in all communist literature, meaning workers (working class) +who sell their “labor” in exchange for wages. This “class” is extolled by +the communists, and virtually everything done by the Party is done in the +name of the “proletariat” (as “dictatorship of the proletariat”). + + +PURGES: + +A characteristic inherent in communism whereby undesirable members are +expelled from the Party (or, when communism is in state power, exiled +or executed). To communists, purging is a necessary technique to keep +the Party “pure,” thereby creating “better” members. “The Party becomes +strong by purging itself of opportunist elements.” (_Stalin_) + + +REFORMISM (REFORMS, REFORMISTS): + +To communists, reforms in the social structure can have only minor and +passing beneficial results. Further, they delay the revolution. Hence, +“reformism” is a term of abuse, implying a “bourgeois” or non-Marxist +approach. The communists, however, like to picture themselves as leaders +of reform movements, not for the purpose of improving economic or social +conditions in society but to exploit such movements to advance the cause +of communism. To communists reforms can often be a means to an end. + + +REVOLUTION: + +The seizure of the government, if necessary by force and violence, by the +proletariat (working class) led by the Communist Party, leading to the +establishment of a Soviet state; called _proletarian revolution_. + + +SELF-CRITICISM: + +A communist technique ostensibly to detect and correct weaknesses in +Party life; actually to enforce communist discipline. The Party member +is encouraged to pursue a cold, relentless, realistic, and constant +examination of shortcomings and failures, both in others and himself. +Not to do so is regarded as “bourgeois” weakness or sentimentalism. +Communists teach: “Self-criticism is the most important means for +developing Communist consciousness and thereby strengthening discipline +and democratic centralism.” + + +SOCIALISM (MARXIST): + +1. The so-called “scientific” variety of socialism; that is, +Marxism-Leninism or Marxist scientific socialism. (See also =COMMUNISM +[MARXIST SCIENTIFIC SOCIALISM]=.) + +2. In a limited meaning, “socialism” refers to the first or lower stage +of communism, which is the transitory period between the seizure of power +and the higher or final phase of communism. See =COMMUNISM (stages of +development)= for further details. + + +SOCIALISM (NON-MARXIST): + +The communists have nothing but contempt for any form of socialism except +the Marxist-Leninist version. Non-Marxist socialists are regarded as +“utopian,” impractical, and allies of the bourgeoisie. + + +STATE: + +Communists regard all states to be organs of force and suppression in the +hands of the rulers. They bitterly denounce the noncommunist state as an +instrument of suppression, and blithely assert that when full communism +comes the state will “wither away.” However, inside present communist +states (where the dictatorship of the proletariat is in power) the state +has not withered away but has become ever stronger, increasing communist +power and terror. + + +TRANSMISSION BELTS: + +Refers to disguised mass organizations, which are used by the Communist +Party to spread or transmit communism to the masses of people. “It +is impossible to effect the dictatorship without having a number of +‘transmission belts’ from the vanguard to the masses of the advanced +class, and from the latter to the masses of the toilers.” (_Lenin_) + + +UNITED FRONT: + +A revolutionary tactic designed to secure the support of noncommunists +for Party objectives. This generally involves Party manipulation of +noncommunist groups, usually on some current issue such as “peace” or +“civil rights,” whereby the Party, while maintaining its independent +role, cooperates with others to work for certain goals. To noncommunists +the goal is advancement of the good of society; to communists, the +revolution. + + +VANGUARD OF THE PROLETARIAT: + +Term applied to the role of the Communist Party as the leader or teacher +of the proletariat. Communists often talk of the Party as the “general +staff” of the revolution. + + +WAR: + +1. Communists talk much about peace but feverishly prepare for war. +In Soviet Russia communist preparation takes the form of military +strength—the army, navy, air force; in the United States, the +organization of an active above-ground and underground apparatus designed +to wage “war” against noncommunist society. + +2. Communists believe that “war is a continuation of politics by other +means.” Marxism-Leninism divides wars into two major categories, unjust +and just. “Unjust” wars, according to the communists, are wars started +by the capitalists for purposes of exploitation (“reactionary wars of +conquest”). These wars, they say, inevitably grow out of the “predatory” +character of the capitalist system. “Just” wars, on the other hand, are +wars of “national liberation”; that is, they promote the interests of +the proletariat and hinder the capitalists. In other words, a war is +just (moral) if the communists stand to gain; otherwise, it is unjust +(immoral). The communists classify, for example, Russia’s invasion of +Finland (1939) and entering World War II after Germany’s invasion of +Russia as just wars; World War II before Russia’s involvement and the +United Nations’ action in Korea (1950) as unjust. + +3. In the final analysis, Marxism-Leninism teaches that war is absolutely +necessary to bring about world-wide communism wherever the advances +of communism are resisted. This makes Marxism-Leninism such a brutal +concept. Lenin, in a letter to American workers, wrote: “... history +demands that the greatest problems of humanity be solved by struggle and +war.” + + + + +_Bibliography of Major Communist “Classics”_ + + +The theory and practice of Marxism-Leninism have been developed by +communist writers over a period of more than a century. The works of +Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, in the Party’s eyes, are regarded as +communist “classics.” “These books are Communist classics. They contain +the fundamental principles and program of Communism. These are universal +in their scope and they are accepted by all Communist Parties, including +our own.” (_William Z. Foster_) + +These writings, it must be remembered, are propaganda for the communist +movement. Written by highly partisan and prejudiced minds, they are not +based on scientific truth and accurate historical research; nor are +they attempts to determine truth as we in a free society understand +truth. These writers are trying to hammer out the principles of violent +revolution and, in the later writings of Lenin and those of Stalin, +to justify communism in state power and to teach communists in other +countries how to follow the Bolshevik example. These listed works, +although not intended to be all-inclusive, are prime examples of how +prejudice, thrown into the stream of world opinion, has warped the minds +and personalities of so many millions of human beings. + + +KARL MARX: + +_Das Kapital_ (_Capital_) is undoubtedly Marx’s best-known and most +important writing. It forms, in a literal sense, the cornerstone +of modern-day communism. The work is in three volumes: _Capitalist +Production_ (1867), _Capitalist Circulation_ (1885), _Capitalist +Production as a Whole_ (1894). The final two volumes were completed by +Engels after Marx’s death. In this massive work Marx attempted, using +many statistics compiled from nineteenth-century England, to prove that +capitalism was doomed. To communists, _Das Kapital_ is “scientific” proof +of the inevitability of communist revolution. Time after time history has +proved the errors, fallacious logic, and unscientific premises of the +major thoughts contained in _Das Kapital_; yet to communists the book is +an infallible guide to Party thought and action. + +Another important work of Marx is _The Civil War in France_. This work +(which actually consists of three statements drafted by Marx for the +First International) was written in connection with the Paris Commune, a +revolutionary government set up in Paris after the defeat of France by +Prussia in 1870-71. Although lasting only a few weeks, the Commune is +regarded by communists as the first working-class government in history. +This “classic” sets forth Marx’s view toward the existing state apparatus +of a “bourgeois” state: that is, the working class cannot confine itself +merely to taking over the state machinery; but the “bourgeois” state must +be utterly destroyed and replaced by the dictatorship of the proletariat. + +_The Poverty of Philosophy_ (1847) represents one of Marx’s earliest +works on economics, while _The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte_ +(1852) discusses, among other things, the character of the “bourgeois” +revolution. The latter work was written concerning the activities of +Louis Bonaparte, President of the Second French Republic, who was later +to become Emperor of France. It must be noted that Marx (and also Engels +and Lenin) were acute observers of contemporary political, social, and +economic affairs; and their writings abound with references to current +events and personalities. Other works of Marx include: _Critique of +Political Economy_ (1859), _Value, Price and Profit_ (1865), and +_Critique of the Gotha Programme_ (1875). In the latter, Marx develops +his idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the “withering away” +of the state. + +Marx was a prolific letter-writer, corresponding with many +revolutionaries in England and abroad. The _Selected Correspondence +of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels_ (1846-1895) shows how the intimate +collaboration of these two perverted minds gave birth to the communist +conspiracy. + + +FRIEDRICH ENGELS: + +Engels, like Marx, was a voluminous writer. Some of his better-known +works are _The Peasant War in Germany_ (1850), _Germany: Revolution +and Counter-Revolution_ (1851-52), _The Housing Question_ (1872), and +_Anti-Dühring_ (1877-78). The latter work was written in reply to Eugen +Dühring, a German professor who had published what, in Engels’ opinion, +were erroneous ideas concerning materialism and socialism. Engels not +only attacks Dühring’s views but goes on to sketch the communist world +outlook, discussing dialectical and historical materialism, philosophy, +and political economy. + +In _The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State_ (1884), +Engels endeavors to show the relationship of the family, modes of +production, and society. One of Engels’ latest writings on materialism is +_Ludwig Feuerbach and the Outcome of Classical German Philosophy_ (1886). +His _Dialectics of Nature_, published posthumously in 1927, is an attempt +to discuss science from a Marxist viewpoint. + + +JOINT AUTHORSHIP OF MARX AND ENGELS: + +As is well known, Marx and Engels often cooperated in writing, and +sometimes it is difficult to determine exactly who wrote what. The +best-known product of their collaboration, of course, is the _Communist +Manifesto_. Engels, for example, wrote articles under Marx’s name for +the latter to send to the New York _Tribune_. On the other hand, Engels, +speaking of _Anti-Dühring_, said he read the whole manuscript to Marx and +that Marx himself contributed a chapter. + + +VLADIMIR I. LENIN: + +From roughly 1900 to his death, Lenin poured out pamphlet after pamphlet +justifying violent revolution and giving instructions to his followers. + +In _What Is To Be Done?_ (1902), Lenin outlines the principles which +should determine the formation of a Leninist-type Party. This was during +the period of debate among Russian communists on the type of Party +organization, with Lenin favoring a restricted, disciplined membership. +In 1904, in _One Step Forward, Two Steps Back_, Lenin continues his +demand for a disciplined Party. In this pamphlet he attacks his +opponents, the Mensheviks. This attack was continued in _Two Tactics of +Social-Democracy in the Democratic Revolution_ (1905). _Materialism and +Empirio-Criticism_ (1909), a philosophical treatise, represents one of +Lenin’s major works. + +In the years that followed, Lenin continued studying and writing. In +1917 _Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism_ appeared, in which +Lenin develops the thesis that imperialism is the final state of monopoly +capitalism. He characterized World War I as imperialistic on both sides. +This work was destined to leave a lasting imprint on communist thinking. +The term “imperialistic” is today one of the communists’ favorite terms +of attack against the free world. + +_State and Revolution_ (1918), in which Lenin studies the relationship +of revolutionary theory to the state, is probably his clearest blueprint +for violent revolution. It has been extensively used by communists in the +United States. + +Another major work of Lenin, published in 1920 after the Bolshevik +revolution, is _“Left-Wing” Communism, an Infantile Disorder_. Lenin here +is writing from the viewpoint of communism in state power and giving +advice to revolutionary movements outside Russia. He is telling other +communists how “he did it in Russia,” especially warning them to be +careful about ineffective left-wing tendencies. This work did much to +consolidate the world communist movement and the Third International. + +Of special interest to the United States is Lenin’s _A Letter to +American Workers_ (1918). In this letter Lenin reports to “the American +worker” about the Russian revolution. Communists in this country have +always considered this communication a symbol of the Russian dictator’s +interest in the American proletariat. In truth, the letter reveals how, +in communist hands, America’s history and struggle for freedom would be +distorted by Marxist manipulation. + + +JOSEPH V. STALIN: + +Stalin was not as prodigious a writer as Marx, Engels, and Lenin. +Included in his outstanding works are _Foundations of Leninism_ (1924) +and _Marxism and the National Question_ (1913), a study of communism in +relation to nationality groups. In the former, Stalin attempted to show +that Lenin did not merely rediscover and reapply Marxism to his day but +also developed it further. Given as a series of lectures at Sverdlov +University, Moscow, this work discusses basic communist concepts, such +as the dictatorship of the proletariat, the peasant problem, strategy and +tactics, and the Party. + +In addition, Stalin has claimed to be the genius behind the _History +of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)_ (1938). In +_Joseph Stalin, A Political Biography_ (issued by the Marx-Engels-Lenin +Institute), it is stated that the _History_ was written by Stalin and +approved by a commission of the Central Committee of the Communist +Party of the Soviet Union. This book was a “short-course” history of +the Bolshevik movement in which the various phases of Party development +were stressed. It was widely distributed in Russia and also used by the +Communist Party, USA. + +Very interestingly, Nikita Khrushchev made mention of this work in his +famous denunciation of Stalin at the Twentieth Party Congress of the +Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev told how originally the +book was described as written by a commission of the Party’s Central +Committee “under the direction of Comrade Stalin and with his most active +personal participation....” This, however, according to Khrushchev, +did not satisfy Stalin, so the wording was changed to read “written by +Comrade Stalin and approved by a commission of the Central Committee....” +“As you see,” Khrushchev said, “a surprising metamorphosis changed +the work created by a group into a book written by Stalin. It is not +necessary to state how and why this metamorphosis took place.” + + + + +APPENDICES + + + + +_Appendices_ + + + + +I + +Key Dates in Lives of Communist “Big Four” + + +=KARL MARX= + + 1818 May 5: Born in Treves (Trier), in the Rhine province of Prussia + (Germany). + 1842 Met Friedrich Engels for first time in Cologne, Germany. + 1843 Married Jenny von Westphalen. + 1844 Began lifelong friendship and collaboration with Engels. + 1847 Marx, along with Engels, joined the Communist League. + 1848 The _Communist Manifesto_ published. + 1848-49 Editor-in-chief, _Neue Rheinische Zeitung_, in Cologne. + 1849 Banished from Germany and went to Paris, from which he was also + banished. + 1849-83 Lived in exile in London. + 1852-61 Foreign correspondent for the New York _Tribune_. + 1864 Helped in setting up International Workingmen’s Association + (First International) in London. + 1867 Volume I of _Das Kapital (Capital)_ published in Hamburg, + Germany. + 1872 Russian translation of _Das Kapital_, Volume I, published. + 1883 March 14: Died in London. + +=FRIEDRICH ENGELS= + + 1820 November 28: Born in Barmen in the Rhine province of Prussia + (Germany). + 1842 Settled in Manchester, England. + 1870 Moved to London to work with Marx. + 1885 Volume II of Marx’s _Das Kapital_ published as edited by Engels. + 1888 Visited United States and Canada. + 1894 Volume III of Marx’s _Das Kapital_ published as edited by + Engels. + 1895 August 5: Died in London. + +=VLADIMIR I. LENIN= + + 1870 April 22: Born in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk), Russia. + 1887 May: Brother, Alexander, hanged for plotting to assassinate + Czar Alexander III. + 1893 Joined underground Social Democratic circle called “Elders.” + 1897 May: Exiled to Siberia following a prison term. + 1900-05 Traveled, wrote, and conducted work of Russian Social Democratic + Labor Party (forerunner of Communist Party of Soviet Union) in + Germany, England, Switzerland, Belgium. Returned to Russia in + November, 1905. + 1905 December: Lenin and Stalin met for first time at Bolshevik + Conference, Tammerfors (Tampere), Finland. + 1907 Went abroad and did not return to live in Russia until 1917. + 1917 April 16: Returned to Russia and arrived in capital, Petrograd + (now Leningrad) from Switzerland. + 1917 November 7: Directed Bolshevik uprising. + 1917-24 Dictator of Soviet Russia. + 1924 January 21: Died. + +=JOSEPH STALIN= + + 1879 December 21: Born in Gori, Georgia, the Caucasus (Russia). + 1899 Expelled from theological seminary at Tiflis. + 1905 December: Delegate to Bolshevik Conference in Finland and met + Lenin for first time. + 1906 Participated in Fourth Congress of Russian Social Democratic + Labor Party in Stockholm, Sweden. + 1902-17 Engaged in revolutionary activities in Russia; arrested and + exiled number of times. + 1917 Participated in October Revolution of Bolsheviks. + 1917-23 People’s Commissar for the Affairs of the Nationalities. + 1922 Became General Secretary of the Central Committee of the + Russian Communist Party. + 1922-29 Consolidation of personal power, leading in 1929 to expulsion + of Trotsky from Russia. + 1929-53 Supreme dictator of Soviet Russia. + 1953 March 5: Died in the Kremlin, Moscow. + 1956 Denounced at Twentieth Congress of Communist Party of the + Soviet Union. + + + + +II + +International Communist Organizations and Publications + + +=COMMUNIST LEAGUE= + + 1847 Communist League organized under Marx’s influence from League + of the Just. + 1852 Communist League dissolved at Marx’s proposal. + +=FIRST INTERNATIONAL= + + 1864 The First International, or International Workingmen’s + Association, founded in London. + 1872 First International voted to move headquarters to New York on + Engels’ proposal. Split over the proposal caused eventual + dissolution. + 1876 July 15: First International dissolved in congress at + Philadelphia. + +=SECOND INTERNATIONAL (SOCIALIST)= + + 1889 July 14: The Second International formed at Paris. + 1914-18 Effective work of Second International, to all intents and + purposes, ended during World War I. Violently attacked by + Lenin as “bourgeois.” + +=THIRD (COMMUNIST) INTERNATIONAL Also Known As COMINTERN= + + 1919 March 2-6: Formed in Moscow. + 1920 July-August: Second Congress of Comintern in Moscow, which + adopted the “twenty-one points” of admission. + 1935 July 25-August 20: Seventh Congress of Comintern in Moscow, at + which United Front program instituted. + 1943 June 10: Comintern dissolved. + +=COMMUNIST INFORMATION BUREAU Also Known As COMINFORM= + + 1947 Formed in Poland, with headquarters to be in Belgrade, + Yugoslavia. + 1948 Cominform denounced Tito and threatened expulsion of Tito + and his top aides for “hateful” policy toward Russia. + Denunciation prepared at meeting of Cominform in Roumania. + Yugoslav Communist Party defied charges. + 1948 July: Headquarters of Cominform moved to Bucharest, Roumania. + 1956 April: Cominform dissolved. + +=YOUNG COMMUNIST INTERNATIONAL= + + 1919 Young Communist International formed in Berlin. + 1943 Dissolved. + +=INTERNATIONAL COMMUNIST PUBLICATIONS= + + 1919 May: First issue of _The Communist International_, organ of + the Executive Committee of the Communist International. + 1943 July 5: Last issue of _The Communist International_, after + dissolution of Comintern. + 1947 November 10: _For a Lasting Peace, for a People’s Democracy!_ + published in Belgrade, characterizing itself as “Organ of + the Information Bureau of the Communist Parties in Belgrade” + (published in Bucharest, Roumania after Cominform attack on + Tito). + 1956 April: _For a Lasting Peace, for a People’s Democracy!_ ceased + publication. + + + + +III + +Communism in Russia + + + 1883 Group for the Emancipation of Labor, first Russian Marxist + group, formed in Geneva, Switzerland. + 1903 Bolshevik (majority) and Menshevik (minority) factions resulted + from split in Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic + Labor Party, held in Brussels and London. + 1905 December: Bolshevik Conference in Tammerfors (Tampere), Finland. + 1914 Start of World War I. + 1917 March: Provisional government formed in Russia. Czar Nicholas + II abdicated. + 1917 July 20: New revolutionary government formed with Kerensky as + Prime Minister. + 1917 October 23: Bolshevik Central Committee approved Lenin’s + proposal for armed insurrection. + 1917 November 7: “Red Guards” and revolutionary troops occupied + Petrograd (Russian capital) and overthrew government (called + October Revolution). + 1917 December: Soviet government signed armistice with Germany and + Austria at Brest-Litovsk to end hostilities. + 1918 March 3: Russia signed Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, abandoning + Poland, Lithuania, the Ukraine, the Baltic provinces, + Finland, and Transcaucasia. + 1918 March: Soviet government and Party headquarters moved to Moscow. + 1921 March: Kronstadt sailors’ unsuccessful revolt against Lenin. + 1921 March: Tenth Party Congress adopted Lenin’s New Economic Policy. + 1922 March 27-April 2: Eleventh Party Congress elected Stalin General + Secretary of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). + 1925 December: Fourteenth Party Congress changed name to Communist + Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks) or CPSU (B). + 1927 December: Fifteenth Party Congress of CPSU (B) instructed + preparation of first Five-Year Plan. + 1929 Trotsky arrived in Turkey as exile from U.S.S.R. + 1932-33 The Stalin Famine due, in part, to excesses of agrarian policy. + Victims estimated from 4,000,000 to 10,000,000 dead. + 1933 November 17: Soviet Russia recognized diplomatically by the + United States. + 1934 September 18: U.S.S.R. formally became member of League of + Nations. + 1934-38 Purges of Communist Party members and government and military + officials as “counter-revolutionaries.” + 1936 New constitution approved and adopted by the Eighth + Extraordinary Congress of Soviets. + 1939 August: Soviet-German Nonaggression Pact ratified. + 1939 September 17: Soviet Russia invaded Poland. + 1939 November 30: Soviet Russia invaded Finland. + 1940 March: Soviet Russia and Finland signed peace terms. + 1941 June 22: German armies invaded Russia. + 1945 May 9: Stalin announced end of war to Russian people. + 1953 March 5: Stalin died. + 1953 December 23: Beria executed as “enemy of the people.” + 1956 February: Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the + Soviet Union at which Stalin was denounced. 1957 June: + Vyacheslav Molotov, Georgi Malenkov, Lazar Kaganovich, + and Dmitri Shepilov denounced as “enemies of the Party.” + 1957 October: Marshal Georgi Zhukov, Red Army hero, ousted as + Soviet Defense Minister. + + + + +IV + +Communism in the United States + + + 1918 November: Communist Propaganda League formed. + 1919 June 21: National Conference of the Left-Wing of the Socialist + Party in New York at which Left-Wing Manifesto adopted. + 1919 August 30: Reed-Gitlow left-wing group expelled from emergency + Socialist Party convention. + 1919 August 31: Communist Labor Party of America formed from + Reed-Gitlow group in Chicago. + 1919 September 1: Communist Party of America formed in Chicago. + 1920 May: United Communist Party of America formed at Bridgman, + Michigan. + 1921 May: Communist Party of America, Section of the Communist + International, formed from Communist Party and United + Communist Party at Woodstock, New York. + 1921 December: Workers Party of America formed at New York City. + 1923 April: Communist Party and Workers Party consolidated at New + York. + 1925 August: Workers Party of America changed its name to Workers + (Communist) Party. + 1928 October: Expulsion from Workers (Communist) Party of Trotskyites + led by James Cannon. + 1929 March: Sixth Convention of Workers (Communist) Party of America + at New York changed Party name to Communist Party of the + United States of America. + 1929 June: Expulsion of Lovestone group from Communist Party. + 1939 September: War broke out in Europe. The Comintern and the + Communist Party, USA, called war an “imperialist war.” + 1941 June: Germany attacked Russia. Communists shifted their + “line”—called war a “just war” against fascism. + 1944 May: Communist Political Association (CPA) organized when + Communist Party, USA, dissolved at Twelfth National + Convention in New York. + 1945 July: Communist Party reconstituted and Communist Political + Association dissolved at an emergency convention as a result + of Jacques Duclos’ article in April, 1945, issue of French + journal, _Cahiers du Communisme_. + 1948 Arrests of top communist leaders by the FBI under the Smith + Act; trial began in January, 1949. + 1951-55 Period of intensive underground activity by Communist Party, + USA. + 1956 Communist Party jolted by Khrushchev’s denunciation of Stalin. + 1957 February: Sixteenth National Convention of Communist Party held + in New York City. + + + + +INDEX + + + + +_Index_ + + + Abel, Colonel Rudolf Ivanovich, 278 + + Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 65, 79, 101, 285 + + Adams, Arthur, 272 + + Aesopian language, 93-97, 126, 287 + + Agitation. _See_ Mass agitation + + American Jewish Committee, 239 + + American Jewish League Against Communism, 239, 240 + + American Labor Party, 82 + + American League Against War and Fascism, 65, 216 + + American League for Peace and Democracy, 65 + + American Negro Labor Congress, 234 + + American Peace Mobilization, 65, 217 + + American People’s Mobilization, 217 + + American Youth Congress, 65 + + American Youth for Democracy, 217 + + Amtorg Trading Corporation, 274 + + Anarchism, 22, 302 + + Anti-Defamation League, 239 + + _Anti-Dühring_, 98. + _See also_ _Bibliography_ + + Anti-Semitism in Russia, 46, 70, 71, 115, 156. + _See also_ Judaism, communist attack on + + Antithesis. _See_ Dialectical materialism (dialectics) + + Appeals Commission (CPUSA). _See_ Review (Control) commissions + + Armed forces, communist attitude toward, 286 + + Art, communist attitude toward, 158-161 + + Atheism, 14, 15, 18, 23, 47, 106, 323. + _See also_ Religion + + _Avanti_, 52 + + + Bakunin, Mikhail, 22 + + Balabanoff, Angelica, 52 + + Bart, Phil, 60 + + Basic industries, 283 + + Bedacht, Max, 59 + + Bentley, Elizabeth, 275 + + Beria, Lavrenti, 42 + + Bittelman, Alexander, 244 + + Bloor, Ella Reeve (“Mother” Bloor), 56, 148, 149, 161, 313, 314 + + B’nai B’rith, 239, 250 + + Bolshevik Revolution, vi, 29, 30, 48 + + Bolsheviks (majority), 27, 315 + + _Bolshevism and Religion_, 242 + + Bolshevization, technique of, 37, 63, 75, 315 + + Bookstores, Party. _See_ Literature program + + Bourgeoisie, 33, 181, 183, 315, 317, 318 + + Bridgman, Michigan, convention (May, 1920), 54 + + Browder, Earl, 56, 213, 228, 234, 237; + general secretary, 64, 128; + head of Communist Political Association, 67; + purged by Communist Party, USA, 68, 110, 116, 157, 165-169, 172, + 177, 323; + writings on religion, 304 + + Budenz, Louis, 109 + + Budish, J. M., 242 + + Bukharin, Nikolai, 41 + + Bulganin, N. A., 23, 41, 42, 69 + + + Cacchione, Peter V., 148, 224 + + Cachin, Marcel, 305 + + Cadre, 316, 324 + + _Cahiers du Communisme_, 67 + + Camps, Party sponsored, 152. + _See also_ Educational program + + Canadian spy revelations, 95, 275 + + Cannon, James P., 63 + + _Capital (Das Kapital)_, 16, 25. + _See also_ _Bibliography_ + + Capitalism, 19, 21, 33, 315, 316, 320, 322 + + Catherine the Great, 38 + + Caucuses, Party, 202-204 + + Cell. _See_ Clubs, Party + + Centrism, 51, 316 + + Charles University, Prague, 221, 222 + + Chauvinism, 167, 316 + + Cheka, 30 + + Christianity, communist attitude toward, 299, 304-307 + + Christmas, communist exploitation of, 161, 162 + + Churches, communist attempts to infiltrate. _See_ Religion + + Civil Rights Congress, 83, 235 + + _The Civil War in France_, 158. + _See also_ _Bibliography_ + + Clark, Joseph, 108-109 + + Class struggle, 18-21, 159, 301, 317 + + Classes, communist concept of, 18, 317 + + “Classics,” communist, 328 + + Clementis, Vladimir, 39 + + Clubs, Party, 69, 126, 134, 135, 202 + + Colonization program (colonizers), 283, 284 + + Comintern, 126; + directs Party activities in U.S., 52-55, 58-60, 62-64, 226-228, + 233, 234, 273; + dissolution of, 67; + founding of in 1919, 32, 51, 52, 272; + initiates United Front policy, 64, 65, 200; + participation of communists from U.S. in, 49, 56, 57 + + Commandism. _See_ Chauvinism + + Committee to Save Albert Jackson, 217 + + Committee to Save the Martinsville Seven, 217 + + Communism; + deceptive appeal of, 86-108; + primitive, 13, 318; + role of the Party, 21, 22, 26, 27, 37, 77, 78, 315, 323 (_see also_ + Vanguard of the proletariat); + theory, 18-23, 317-319, 326; + way of life, vi, vii, 7, 8, 161; + world extent of, 3-5, 38. + _See also_ Marxism-Leninism + + _Communism in the United States_, 304 + + _The Communist_, 49, 55 + + Communist Control Act of 1954, 69 + + Communist International. _See_ Comintern + + Communist Labor Party of America (CLP), v, 49-51, 54, 55 + + Communist League, 21. + _See also_ _Communist Manifesto_ + + Communist man, concept of, vii, 8, 71, 72, 149-163, 270, 314 + + _Communist Manifesto_, 22, 98, 239, 286 + + Communist Party, Soviet Union. _See_ Twentieth Congress of the + Russian Communist Party; Comintern + + Communist Party, USA; + aims in United States, vi, vii, 3-8, 71, 75, 182; + capacity for swift growth, 4, 71, 72; + change of names, 54-56, 62, 67, 68; + constitution, 77, 92, 126-129, 163, 170, 171; + falsely regarded as not menace because of small numbers, 3, 4, 71; + history, 48-72; + numerical strength, 3, 4, 64, 96, 132, 133; + organizational structure of, 123-137; + reasons for breaking away, 108-120; + reasons for joining, 97-108; + Sixteenth National Convention of (February, 1957), 70, 127, 232, + 250, 251; + tyranny of life within, 114-117; + vassal of Russia, 50, 55, 57-59, 66-71, 182, 272-276 + + Communist Political Association (CPA), 67, 68, 177. + _See also_ Communist Party, USA + + Congress of American Women, 221 + + Congress of Industrial Organizations, 64 + + Constitution, Communist Party. _See_ Communist Party, USA + + Coplon, Judith, 277 + + Couriers, Party, 256, 261, 262, 274, 278. + _See also_ Espionage; Underground + + Criticism, self, communist use of, 168-170, 325 + + Cultural Commission (CPUSA), 131 + + Cultural program, communist, 158-162 + + + _Daily Worker_, 46, 58, 70, 83, 106, 108, 145, 147, 149, 164, 170, + 172, 173, 175, 183, 188, 196, 202, 208, 212, 235, 249, 274, 305; + praise of Russia, 159, 160; + role in Party life, 154-161 + + Darrow, Clarence, 235 + + Davis, Benjamin J., Jr., 224 + + Defection of Party members. _See_ Communist Party, USA, reasons for + breaking away + + Democracy, communist definition of, 92-95, 319 + + Democratic centralism, 53, 135-137, 319 + + Dennis, Eugene, 34, 60, 70, 128, 229 + + Deviation, 166, 320, 323 + + Dialectical materialism (dialectics), 18, 19, 320 + + Dictatorship of the proletariat, 5, 21, 29, 33, 126, 317-322, 326 + + Dimitroff, Georgi, 200 + + Discipline, 27, 32, 37, 52, 53, 78, 111-113, 142-144, 268, 321; + conscious and voluntary submission to will of Party, 164-166; + expulsions, 164-165, 170-172, 177; + helps mold communist man, 162, 163; + Party “judicial” system, 163-166; + penalties, 171; + reasons why members may be disciplined, 166-168, 173; + self-criticism, 168-170; + vilification of expelled members, 173, 175-177. + _See also_ Factionalism; Purges + + Disguises (underground), 258-261. + _See also_ Espionage + + Dodd, Bella, 109 + + Donchin, Sam, 172 + + Doyle, Bernadette, 225 + + Duclos, Jacques, 67 + + Dues, Party, 77, 144. + _See also_ Funds, how Party collects + + Dupe (innocent victim) of communist propaganda, 65, 86-89, 193, 194, + 213, 215, 219, 287, 304 + + + Education Department (CPUSA), 131 + + Educational program, communist, 59, 60, 111, 131, 150-154, 214, 311 + + Ehrenburg, Ilya, 248 + + Elections, running of communist candidates, 62, 87, 88, 224, 225 + + Emergency Civil Liberties Committee, 83 + + Engels, Friedrich, 23, 24, 28, 39, 126, 153, 158, 318; + biographical, 14-17; + co-author of _Communist Manifesto_, 21, 286; + works of, 329-330 + + Escape routes, communist, 256, 262. + _See also_ Underground + + Espionage, Soviet, 271-283; + make-up of networks, 278, 279; + motivation of agents, 280, 281; + objectives in United States, 281, 282; + relationship of Communist Party, USA, 271, 283 + + Estates willed to Party, 146, 147 + + Ethics, communist, 151, 165. + _See also_ Morality + + Exceptionalism, 68 + + + Factionalism (faction), 49-52, 54, 55, 63, 67-71, 170, 321 + + Family life, communist influence on, 78, 79, 105-107, 114, 118, + 140-144, 171, 175, 176, 267-269 + + Fascism, 65, 101, 280 + + Fast, Howard, 99, 109, 115-116 + + _The FBI Story_, 293 + + Federal Bureau of Investigation, 103, 109, 113, 142, 164, 256, 259, + 263, 266, 274-277; + hatred of by Party members, 116-117, 125; + informants, 136, 168, 275, 283; + investigative jurisdiction, 288-291; + Party attacks against, 184, 198; + protecting civil rights, 291-294 + + Feffer, Itzik, 248 + + Fellow traveler. _See_ Sympathizer + + Feudalism, 19, 317, 320, 322 + + Feuerbach, Ludwig, 14 + + First International, 22 + + Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley, 87, 136 + + _Folks-Shtimme_, 46, 249 + + Force and violence; + definition of, 321; + essential for revolution, 21, 22, 26, 32, 33, 72, 126, 181, 184, + 286, 319, 321, 325. + _See also_ Revolution, communist concept of + + Ford, James W., 227, 234 + + Foster, William Z., 3, 50, 56, 57, 61, 68, 69, 130, 225, 237, 285; + chairman, Communist Party, USA, 68, 110, 128; + factional struggles, 63, 70, 156; + presidential candidate, 62, 227; + quotations from, 3-8, 38, 93, 177, 189, 199, 211, 225, 299, 300, + 302; + sees Lenin, 57; + writings on religion, 304, 305 + + Fronts, 83, 84, 106, 159, 208; + aid to underground, 214, 262, 263; + how to identify, 225, 226; + role in mass agitation, 65, 77, 96, 191-193, 214-226, 234-236; + schools, 155, 214; + technique of formation, 212-214, 218; + types, 216-218 + + Fuchs, Klaus, 99, 271, 282 + + Functionary, Party, 139-144, 151. + _See also_ Cadre + + Funds, how Party collects, 144-147, 213 + + Funerals, communist exploitation of, 148, 149 + + + Ganley, Nat, 60 + + Gannett, Betty, 60 + + Gates, John, 70, 156 + + Geneva Conference (July, 1955), 42, 69, 167 + + German-Russian Nonaggression Pact (1939), 66, 70, 116 + + Gerson, Simon W., 60 + + Gitlow, Benjamin, 48, 56, 62, 63, 67, 166 + + _The God That Failed_, 231 + + Gold, Harry, 271, 278, 279, 282 + + Golos, Jacob, 274 + + Gomulka, Wladyslaw, 39 + + Gouzenko, Igor, 275 + + Green, Gilbert, 149 + + Greenglass, David, 280 + + Greenglass, Ruth, 280 + + _Guide to Subversive Organizations and Publications_, 89 + + + Hall, Gus, 60 + + Hansen, Traynor, 113 + + Hartle, Barbara, 109-113, 115 + + Hathaway, C. A., 227 + + Hegel, G. W. F., 18 + + Hide-outs, 124, 256, 257, 262, 263, 269. + _See also_ Underground + + Historic mission, 126, 322 + + Historical materialism, 19 + + History (American), communist interpretation of, 161 + + _History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)_, + 93. + _See also_ _Bibliography_ + + Hitler, Adolf, 64-67, 101 + + Holidays, communist attitude toward, 161, 162, 188 + + House Committee on Un-American Activities, 89, 173, 184, 212, 221 + + Hungarian Revolt (1956), 47, 70, 95, 115, 156, 224, 238, 251, 310, 314 + + + Ideological self-cultivation, 153. + _See also_ Educational program + + Illegal (tactics), 51, 52, 55, 56, 183-185, 255, 286. + _See also_ Strategy and tactics; Underground; Espionage + + Immediate demands, 184, 188, 189. + _See also_ Party line; Strategy and tactics; Mass agitation + + Imperialism, 322 + + _Imperialism_, 158. + _See also_ _Bibliography_ + + Indoctrination, 105, 139, 150, 157-159. + _See also_ Educational program + + Industrial concentration program, communist, 283 + + Industrial Revolution, 20 + + Inevitability, communist concept of, 322 + + Infiltration, communist technique of, 199-211. + _See also_ Labor unions; Nationality groups, communist infiltration + into; Negroes, communist attempts to influence; Religion + + Ingram, Rosa Lee, 197 + + Innocent victim. _See_ Dupe (innocent victim) of communist propaganda + + Intellectuals, communist exploitation of, 82, 104, 114, 294 + + Internal Security Act of 1950, 69, 189 + + _International Affairs_ (Moscow), 34 + + International Labor Defense (ILD), 235 + + _Iskra (Spark)_, 27 + + Italian Socialist Party, 52 + + + Jefferson, Thomas, 135, 161 + + Jefferson School of Social Science, 155 + + Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee (Russian), 249 + + _Jewish Daily Forward_ (New York), 59, 238 + + _Jews in the Soviet Union_, 242 + + _The Jews in the Soviet Union_, 246 + + Judaism, communist attack on, 237-252, 299 + + Judicial system. _See_ Law enforcement, communist attack on + + Justice, Department of, 68, 184 + + + Kaganovich, Lazar M., 250 + + Kania, Wladyslaw, 242 + + Katz, Moise, 249 + + Kazan, Elia, 173 + + Kerensky, Alexander, 29 + + Khrushchev, Nikita, 42, 69, 70, 92, 250, 309; + denounces Stalin at Twentieth Congress of Russian Communist Party + (February, 1956), 42-47, 70, 95, 109, 115, 116, 153, 156, 249; + praises Stalin, 41, 47; + prophesies a communist America, 3; + quotations from, 3, 34, 41, 43-45, 47, 248, 286, 287, 299; + upholds Leninism, 34, 287 + + Klutznick, Philip M., 250 + + Kostov, Traicho, 39 + + Krassin, Leonid, 30 + + Krassin, Lubov, 30 + + Krchmarek, A., 225 + + Kronstadt, 31 + + Ku Klux Klan, 235 + + Kulaks, 40 + + + Labor Department (CPUSA), 131 + + Labor unions; + communist interest in CIO, 64; + decline of communist strength in, 70, 201, 310; + early communist attempts to infiltrate, 61-63; + lack of sincere communist interest in, 102, 115, 201, 211; + Lenin’s teachings concerning, 102, 201; + Moscow’s interest in, 52, 59; + techniques of communist infiltration, 80, 81, 84-86, 102, 125, 184, + 199-205, 283, 284 + + Labor Youth League, 217 + + Lannon, Albert, 60 + + Lassalle, Ferdinand, 22 + + Lautner, John, 164, 165 + + Law enforcement, communist attack on, 195-199, 285, 286 + + League of Militant Atheists (Soviet Union), 240 + + League of Nations, 64 + + League of Struggle for Negro Rights, 234 + + Left-wing sectarianism, 166, 167, 320 + + Legal (tactics), 52, 53, 55, 56, 183, 185, 274. + _See also_ Infiltration, communist technique of; Mass agitation; + Strategy and tactics + + Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya, 26, 28 + + Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich, 38, 39, 56, 57, 150, 153, 199, 255, 318, + 321-324; + belief in force and violence, 25-33, 184, 198, 321; + biographical, 23-25, 35; + high standing among communists, 23, 24, 34, 35; + influence on Communist Party, USA, 35, 50, 145, 160, 327, 332; + on infiltrating labor unions, 102, 201; + on religion, 24, 240, 299-302, 304-307; + on strategy and tactics, 182, 184, 193, 271, 286; + organizes Third International, 32, 52, 53; + quotations from, 25, 32-34, 36, 90, 92, 94, 157, 166, 177, 182, + 184, 190, 201, 240, 286, 299-302, 304-307, 319, 321, 323, 324, + 326, 327; + role in Bolshevik Revolution, 25-31, 93, 94, 315; + testament of, 36; + works of, 158, 330-331 + + Lenin School (Moscow), 59, 60, 139, 233, 285 + + Liberalism, communist hatred of, 90, 91 + + Lightfoot, Claude, 60 + + Lincoln, Abraham, 135, 161 + + Literature program, communist, 154-158 + + Lovestone, Jay, 56, 63, 68, 166 + + Lowenfels, Walter, 149 + + Lumer, Hyman, 35 + + + McCarran-Walter Immigration and Nationality Act, 189 + + Male supremacism. _See_ Chauvinism + + Malenkov, G. M., 41, 42, 69 + + Mao Tse-tung, 310 + + Martens, Ludwig C. A. K., 272 + + Martinsville Seven, 191. + _See also_ Committee to Save the Martinsville Seven + + Marx, Jenny von Westphalen, 14, 15, 17 + + Marx, Karl, 39, 100, 101, 110, 153, 162, 308, 309; + attitude toward religion, 14, 15, 18, 237, 299, 301; + biographical, 13-18; + co-author of _Communist Manifesto_, 21, 286; + denounces imperialism of Czars, 40; + develops communist theory, 13, 17-23, 25-28, 317, 318, 321, 322; + helps found First International, 22; + quotations from, 14, 15, 17, 22, 241, 286, 299, 318, 321; + works of, 158, 239, 328-329 + + _Marxism and the National Question_, 244 + + Marxism-Leninism, 13, 18-23, 37-39, 43, 67, 68, 177, 240, 280, + 309-311, 317, 318, 322, 326 + + Marxist-Leninist Institute (Russia), 59 + + Mass agitation, 181, 185-199, 214, 218-220, 223-225, 236, 286, 303 + + Masses, communist attitude toward, 21, 161, 198, 322, 323 + + Materialism. _See_ Dialectical materialism (dialectics) + + Mayakovsky, Vladimir, 34 + + Member, Communist Party; + assignment to clubs, 133-135; + “concealed,” 79-82, 84, 85, 123, 124, 134, 200, 206, 213, 219, 225, + 255; + “open,” 77-79; + Party life of, 138-149; + reasons for breaking away, 108-120; + reasons for joining, 97-108; + type of in early 1920’s, 48-50, 56; + varied backgrounds of, 97, 98. + _See also_ Recruitment of members; Underground; Discipline; + Functionary, Party + + Members-at-large, 134 + + Membership. _See_ Communist Party, USA, numerical strength + + Mensheviks, 27, 315 + + Minorities and communism, 226-236 + + _The Modern Quarterly_, 59 + + Mohammedanism, communist attitude toward, 240, 299 + + Molotov, Vyacheslav, 42 + + Morality, communist, 107, 184, 301, 323. + _See also_ Ethics + + _Morning Freiheit_, 238, 248 + + Mussolini, Benito, 101 + + _The Mystic Trumpeter_, 149, 313 + + + National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), + 229, 230, 235 + + National communism, 39 + + National Negro Congress, 65, 234 + + National Negro Labor Council, 212, 216 + + National Organization Department (CPUSA), 131 + + Nationality groups, communist infiltration into, 131, 216, 226, 235, + 236 + + Nationality Groups Commission (CPUSA), 131, 236 + + Negro Commission (CPUSA), 131 + + Negroes, communist attempts to influence, 101, 102, 115, 132, 184, + 226-235, 310 + + Nelson, Steve, 60 + + New Economic Policy (NEP), 31, 40 + + _New Masses_, 90 + + New York _Times_, 173, 250 + + Novick, Paul, 237, 238, 242, 247 + + Novikov, Yuri V., 276-278 + + + October Revolution. _See_ Bolshevik Revolution + + Officials. _See_ Functionary, Party + + Opportunism. _See_ Right-wing opportunism + + Opportunist, communist exploitation of, 85, 86, 206, 209 + + Organizational structure, Communist Party; + clubs, 69, 123-126, 134, 135, 202, 261; + commissions and departments, 128, 131, 132, 186; + draft programs, 127, 133; + headquarters, 129, 133; + in 1920’s, 57-59; + National Administrative Committee, 128; + National Committee, 128-130, 302; + National conventions, 127-129, 163; + National Executive Committee, 128, 129; + regional and local units, 128, 129, 132-135. + _See also_ Democratic centralism; Functionary, Party + + Owen, Robert, 13 + + + Paine, Tom, 135, 161 + + Parades, communist attitude toward, 223, 224 + + Party line, 155, 160, 166, 169, 170, 192, 220, 316, 320, 323, 324; + changes in, 116, 157, 185, 248; + deceptive _vs._ real, 186, 212; + description of, 186-189 + + Party member. _See_ Member, Communist Party + + _Party Voice_, 162 + + People’s Rights Party, 88 + + People’s Will, 24 + + _People’s World_, 154 + + Perry, Pettis, 148 + + Peter the Great, 38, 91 + + Petitions, use by communists, 87, 88, 194, 204, 215, 236. + _See also_ Mass agitation + + Philistine, 324 + + _Pittsburgh Courier_, 235 + + _Political Affairs_, 154, 183, 305 + + Political maturity, 154. + _See also_ Educational program + + Ponger, Kurt L., 277 + + _Pravda_, 30, 42, 93, 248, 251 + + Press, communist, 154-158 + + Professional revolutionaries, 324. + _See also_ Cadre + + Proletarian internationalism, 71, 128, 324 + + Proletarian Party, 49 + + Proletariat, 19-22, 181, 183, 317, 325 + + Propaganda, 86, 87, 131, 189. + _See also_ Mass agitation; Infiltration, communist technique of + + Prosecution of communist leaders, 51, 256. + _See also_ Smith Act + + Purges, communist, 53, 177, 325; + Communist Party, USA, 63, 64, 165, 177; + Russian, 37, 41, 245, 249, 283; + satellite countries, 39 + + + Radicalizing the masses. _See_ Masses, communist attitude toward + + Rajk, Laszlo, 39 + + Randolph, A. Philip, 234 + + Records, membership, 69, 147, 289. + _See also_ Security program, Party + + Recruitment of members, 97, 105-107, 202, 213, 306. + _See also_ Communist Party, USA, reasons for joining + + Reed, John, 48, 49, 56, 135 + + Reformism; Reforms; Reformists, 325 + + Religion; + attempts to infiltrate churches, 302, 303; + communist opposition to, 14, 116, 297-308, 323; + incompatible with Party membership, 306-308; + “opium” of the people, 91, 299; + Party writings on religion, 304, 305; + regarded by communists as instrument of exploitation, 300. + _See also_ Atheism; Judaism, communist attack on + + “Reps” (representatives of Comintern), 53, 55, 58, 272, 276 + + Review (Control) commissions (CPUSA), 131, 163, 164 + + Revisionism. _See_ Right-wing opportunism + + Revolution, communist concept of, 7, 21, 22, 26-29, 51, 55-57, 150, + 153, 184, 271, 283, 306, 325. + _See also_ Force and violence + + _Rheinische Zeitung_ (Cologne), 14 + + Right-wing opportunism, 166, 167, 320, 323 + + Robeson, Paul, 230 + + Roddy, Stephen R., 235 + + Rodney, Lester, 154, 155 + + Rosenberg, Ethel, 191, 271, 275 + + Rosenberg, Julius, 191, 271, 275, 280 + + Russia, Soviet, 40-47, 50, 51-54, 56, 64, 69-71, 165, 239-250, + 272-283, 308, 324; + communist portrayal of as new world of hope, 101, 159, 160, 279, + 309; + communist seizure of power in, vi, 23, 29-32, 37, 38, 66, 67, 96, + 184. + _See also_ Comintern + + Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, 27, 315 + + Ruthenberg, Charles, 48-51, 54, 63 + + Rykov, A. I., 41 + + + Sabotage, communist attitude toward, 184, 283-285 + + Sacco and Vanzetti, 191 + + Schappes, Morris U., 250 + + Schuyler, George S., 235 + + Schwarz, Solomon M., 246 + + Scientific socialism. _See_ Marxism-Leninism + + Scottsboro (Alabama) case, 191, 235 + + Seattle _Post-Intelligencer_, 113 + + Sectarianism. _See_ Left-wing sectarianism + + Security program, Party, 68, 123, 147, 151, 152, 261-267. + _See also_ Underground + + Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, 82, 83, 184, 221 + + Senate Investigating Committee, 184 + + Shepilov, Dmitri T., 42 + + Shop leaflets, communist, 158 + + Sillen, Samuel, 173 + + Silvermaster, Nathan Gregory, 275 + + Slansky, Rudolf, 39, 238 + + Slavery, 19, 317, 320, 322 + + Smith, General Walter Bedell, 242 + + Smith Act, 68, 109, 113, 132, 150, 168, 189, 195, 203, 275 + + Social reforms, communist hypocrisy toward, 92 + + Socialism; + first or lower stage of communism, 318; + Marxist (scientific) (_see also_ Marxism-Leninism), 326; + non-Marxist (Utopian), 13, 326. + _See also_ Communism + + Socialist Party, 48, 110 + + Socialist Workers Party (Trotskyites), 63, 69 + + Soviet Union. _See_ Russia + + Spanish Civil War, 65, 101, 285 + + Splinter groups, 170. + _See also_ Factionalism (faction) + + Sports, communist attitude toward, 154, 155 + + Stack, Loretta, 60 + + Stalin, Joseph V., 24, 27-29, 33, 35, 71, 156, 158, 160, 165, 177, + 199, 238, 245, 248, 309, 317; + denounced by Khrushchev, 42-46, 70, 95, 109, 115, 156, 250; + instructions in 1929 regarding Communist Party, USA, 63; + quotations from, 63, 182, 227, 316, 317, 320, 325; + role in developing communism, 36-47; + signs nonaggression pact with Hitler, 66, 116; + works of, 331-332 + + State, communist concept of withering away, 20, 37, 318, 326 + + _State and Revolution_, 158 + + Strategy and tactics, communist, 150, 181-185, 319. + _See also_ Infiltration, communist technique of; Legal (tactics); + Illegal (tactics) + + Supreme Court, 69 + + Sympathizer, communist, 81-85, 106, 192, 205, 206, 209, 213-215, 275 + + Synthesis. _See_ Dialectical materialism (dialectics) + + + Tactics. _See_ Strategy and tactics + + _Ten Days That Shook the World_, 49 + + Testimonials, use by communists, 192-194, 219, 236, 304. + _See also_ Mass agitation + + Thesis. _See_ Dialectical materialism (dialectics) + + Third International. _See_ Comintern + + _This Week_ magazine, 96, 118 + + Tito, Marshal, 39 + + Trade Union Educational League, 61 + + Transmission belt, vii, 213, 326 + + Trenton Six, 191 + + Trotsky, Leon, 29, 36, 37, 63 + + Trotskyites. _See_ Socialist Workers Party + + Twain, Mark, 161 + + Twentieth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (February, 1956), + 34, 42-46, 249, 286 + + Twenty-One Points (Comintern), 52-55, 57 + + _The Twilight of World Capitalism_, 3, 304 + + + Ulyanov, Alexander, 24 + + Ulyanov, Anna, 24 + + Ulyanov, Vladimir Ilyich. _See_ Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich + + Underground, communist, 184, 214, 271; + early years of Party, 51-58, 62, 63; + infiltration of industry, 283, 284; + mid-1951 to mid-1955, 69; + operations of, 255-271; + reserve leadership, 262. + _See also_ Security program, Party + + United Communist Party of America (UCP), 54 + + United Front, 63-65, 228, 302, 326, 327 + + United Nations, 274 + + United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 158 + + + Vanguard of the proletariat, 21, 181, 322, 327 + + Verber, Otto, 277, 278 + + Veterans’ Commission (CPUSA), 131 + + + Wagenknecht, Alfred, 48 + + Wallace, Henry A., 96 + + War, communist concept of, 327 + + War communism (in Russia), 31, 40 + + Weinstone, William, 60, 136 + + Westphalen, Jenny von. _See_ Marx, Jenny von Westphalen + + Westphalen, Ludwig von, 14 + + White, Walter, 235 + + Whitehead, Don, 293 + + Whitman, Walt, 135, 149, 161, 314 + + Williamson, John, 132 + + Winston, Henry, 60, 132, 149 + + Winter, Carl, 60 + + Women’s Commission (CPUSA), 131 + + Women’s Committee for Equal Justice, 197 + + Women’s International Democratic Federation, 220, 221 + + Wood, Robert, 175 + + Woodstock, New York, convention (May, 1921), 55 + + _The Worker_, 154, 156, 161, 305. + See also _Daily Worker_ + + Workers (Communist) Party, 62 + + Workers Party of America, 56, 57, 61-63 + + World Tourists, Inc., 273 + + Wortis, Rose, 60 + + Wright, Richard, 231 + + + Yagoda, 41 + + Yaroslavsky, E., 240 + + _Yiddishe Kultur_, 249 + + Young Communist League, 64, 101, 106, 217 + + Youth; + communist attitude toward, 106, 107, 131, 186-188, 303, 304, 311, + 312; + indoctrination of children, 106, 107, 159, 160, 269. + _See also_ Young Communist League; Family life, communist influence + on + + Youth Commission (CPUSA), 131 + + + Zhukov, Marshal Georgi, 42 + + Zinoviev, Grigori, 41 + + Zionism, 248 + + * * * * * + +When the Kremlin announces that the next generation of Americans will +live under communist rule, _they mean it_. + +This book tells you what the communist bosses are doing _now_ to bring +America to its knees. It shows the operation of the gigantic and powerful +communist network. It tells you what _you_ can do to combat it. + +If you value your freedom, and your children’s freedom, read this book. +=_It is a warning of the clear and present danger to your way of life._= + + ✓ “Indispensable ... the most authoritative book ever written + on communism in America.”—=_The New York Times_= + + ✓ “This is the most important—indeed the most imperative—book + of the decade ... powerful and informative and + up-to-date.”—=_Christian Herald_= + + ✓ “Every thinking, patriotic American should give + heed.”—=_Philadelphia Inquirer_= + +=MASTERS OF DECEIT= was originally published by Henry Holt and Company, +Inc., at $5.00. + + * * * * * + + =_Are there paper-bound books you want_= but cannot find at + your retail stores? You can get any title in print in these + famous series, =POCKET BOOKS=, =CARDINAL EDITIONS=, =POCKET + LIBRARY= and =PERMABOOKS=, by ordering from Mail Service Dept., + Pocket Books, Inc., 1 West 39th St., New York 18, N.Y. Enclose + retail price plus 5c per book for mailing costs; send check or + money order—do not send cash. + + =FREE CATALOGUE SENT ON REQUEST= + + * * * * * + +J. EDGAR HOOVER reveals the facts that have taken more than forty years +to uncover. These are the facts that Americans do _not_ know about +communism. + +This is the exposé of the Communist Party from its beginning down to the +present. It tells who the communists are, what they claim to be, why +people become communists and why they break away from the Party. + +Here is the picture of what life is like within the Party—the inside +story of communist strategy and methods of mass agitation, the inner +workings of its espionage and sabotage activities. + +Here is the vivid and shocking picture of what this country would be like +under a communist system, and what you can do to fight this ever-present +danger. + +[Illustration] + +“_Every citizen has a duty to learn more about the menace that threatens +his future, his home, his children, the peace of the world—and that is +why I have written this book._”—J. EDGAR HOOVER + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 75796 *** |