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
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_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
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