Anti-Trucks Law Victory Scored By SWP in Suit

DETROIT, Feb. 23 — The Attorney General of Michi­gan, who set out in 1952 to smear the Socialist Workers Party and to bar it from the ballot through the reaction­a ry Trucks Law , has been forced •>■to back down — a t least ten; p o ra rily .

(T ha t is the m ain significance o f the d ism issal o rder signed las t F r id a y by W ayne County Circuit- Judge L ila M. N euenfe lt.

The Socia lis t W orkers P a rty had gone in to cou rt seeking an o rder to re s tra in A tto rn e y Gen­era l M illa rd and o ther M ich igan o ffic ia ls fro m en fo rc ing the

Trucks Victory Hits McCarthyism Dobbs Declares

N E W YO RK, Feb. 21 — F a rre ll Dobbs, na tiona l secre tary o f the Socialist W orkers P a rty and one o f the p la in t if fs in the SW P s u it aga inst the T rucks Law in M ich ­igan, today greeted the p a rtia l v ic to ry against the law won in the W ayne County C ircu it Court as “ a blow aga ins t M cC arthy ism , a v ind ica tion fo r the Socia list W orkers P a rty , and an encourage­ment to continue the fig h t u n til the though t-con tro l T rucks Law w i l l be wiped o f f the s ta tu te books.”

The M ich igan A tto rn e y Gen­era l, Dobbs said, ‘‘by a d m ittin g th a t he doesn’t have p ro o f in 1954 to support his 1952 charges o f ‘subversion’ against the SWP, has exposed the fram eup na ture o f those charges and o f the UJ3. A tto rn e y G eneral’s ‘ subversive’ lis t, on which those charges were based.”

The c re d it fo r th is “ setback to the w itch hun t,” said Dobbs-, “ belongs no t on ly to the SWP b u t also to the excellent w o rk of the nonpartisan C itizens C om m it­tee A g a in s t the T rucks Law , to the M ich igan CIO and the M ich­igan Federation o f Labor (A F L ) which denounced the law , and to the o ther organ izations and in ­d iv iduals who supported our su it and demanded th a t the law be declared unconstitu tiona l o r re ­pealed.

“ The on ly legal action against the T rucks Law tha t is now be­fo re the courts is the s u it filed by the Communist P a rty . W e hope and urge tha t the organ iza tions which aided our su it, despite the ir po litica l d iffe rences w ith us, w ill jo in us in suppo rting the Com­m unist P a rty ’s su it, despite our po litica l d iffe rences w ith them, as a vehicle fo r ge ttin g the T rucks A ct declared unconstitu ­tio n a l.”

T rucks Law , the “ M ich igan Com­m un ist C ontro l L a w ” w h ich was passed in 1952 and used in an a ttem p t to bar the SW P fro m the ba llo t. A no the r ob jective o f the su it was to ge t the T rucks Law declared unconstitu tiona l.

R e luctan t to f ig h t the SW P suit, to a conclusion, M illa rd delayed i t as long as possible,' and then in troduced a m otion to have i t dismissed.

In o rder to achieve th is , how- er, he had -to make some dam ag­in g statem ents th a t were in co r­porated in to the jdism issal order. One was:

“ Thg A tto r ire y General o f th is State, as o f the date o f th is in ­te rlo cu to ry order, has made no de term ination nor has he con­ducted a hearing to determ ine w hether the S ocia lis t W orkers P a rty o f M ich igan, one o f the p la in t if fs herein, is a com m unist fro n t o rgan iza tion w ith in the m eaning o f th a t te rm as defined by the leg is la tu re in section 4 o f the M ich igan C om m unist Con­tro l Law , nor does he deem a t the present tim e th a t he has su f­fic ien t p ro o f to establish the fa c t, i f i t exists, th a t any o f the p la in ­t if fs , in d iv id u a lly o r co llective ly , are com m unists, com m unist f ro n t o rgan izations, o r members thereof w ith in the m eaning o f said law .”

A R E T R E A TT h is m arks a defin ite re tre a t

by the A tto rn e y General. One o f the f irs t th ings he did in 1952 a fte r the T rucks La w was enacted was to ru le th a t the SW P came under the prov is ions o f the law

(Continued on page 4)

F A R R E L L DOBBS

CITIZENS GROUP HAILS DECISION IN SWP CASE

DETROIT, Feb. 22—The Citizens’ Committee Against the Trucks Law today hailed the agreement in Circuit Court arising out of the Trucks Act suit. In a statement released by C hairm an Rev. I . Paul **-

B u ild a Lab o r P a r ty N ow !

THE MILITANTPUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE

Vol. X V II I . No. i e 267 NEW YORK. W. Y., MONDAY. MARCH 8, 1954 PRICE: 10 CENTS

Labor Should Lead the Fight On McCarthy, Says N.Y. CIOM ’Carthy Shows Power In Bid to Control Army

T h e ir F rankenste in M onster

By George Breilman“Senator McCarthy this afternoon achieved what

General Burgoyne and General Cornwallis never achieved — the surrender of the American Army.” — Washington correspondent of the London Times, Feb. 25.

S ecre tary o f the A rm y Stevens •>-could not have surrendered "m ore ab jec tly i f he had got down on his knees.” — M cC arthy to a reporte r, Feb. 25.

“ Senator M cC arthy was asked whether he agreed w ith Senator D irksen tha t M r. Stevens had not surrendered. ‘ I agree w ith th a t,’ he said w ith a b ig g r in on his face. ‘ I t was ju s t a case o f reach­ing an agreem ent.’ S u rre p titio us ly , he kicked a correspondent in the shins as he made the sta tem ent.” — N. Y. 'r im es, Feb. 26.

A fte r the “ agreem ent” w ith Stevens, M cC arthy “ o ffe rs wand­erers in the C ap ito l co rrido rs A rm y commissions i f they want them .” — A lsops, Feb. 28.

“ O fficers o f the A rm y in pa r­tic u la r were in a s tate o f in ­credulous shock. The general mood a t the Pentagon was gloom y and b it te r .” — N . Y. Times, Feb. 26.

“ In W ashington the nex t m orn ­ing, the atmosphere suggests B e rlin a fte r the Reichstag fire w ith Stevens in the ro le o f Van D er Lubbe, the d u llw itte d D u tch ­man who com m itted the arson; w ith E isenhower as the ag ing H indenburg and w ith H it le r p la y ­ed by you-know -w ho.” — Alsops, Feo. 28.

“ Okay, Bud. W hen I w an t you again I ’l l send fo r you.” — Captjon on Herb lock cartoon show ing Stevens o ffe r in g Mc­C arthy h is sword, Feb. 26.

* * *

M cC arthy ’s g ro w in g arrogance has a solid base — i t pa ra lle ls he steady g ro w th o f his power

and o f the d ism ay, dem ora liza tion and d iscred itm ent o f his Repub­lican and Dem ocratic opponents. The w h ite f la g run up by the Pentagon m arks the grea test suc­cess he has recorded in his drive to M cC arthy ize the governm ent bureaucracy and take over the

T a y lo r and S ecre tary-T reasurer E rnes t Mazey, the Com m ittee s ta ted :

The agreement signed in C ir ­c u it C ourt between A tto rn e y General M illa rd o f the State of M ich igan, and a tto rneys Bernard Probe and Jesse R. B a c a lis .in beha lf o f the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty , represents a considerable v ic to ry in the f ig h t to m a in ta in our freedom and c iv il libe rties .

The A tto rn e y General's adm is­sion th a t the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty is ne ithe r “ com m unist” nor “ subversive” under the m eaning o f the act, and the declaration o f the State tha t i t w ill not in ­te rfe re w ith the ba llo t r ig h ts o f the p a r ty or its ind iv idua l candi­dates, is in sharp con trast to the a ttitu d e o f the S tate when the T rucks Law was enacted tw o years ago.

A t th a t tim e, State D irec to r o f E lections Edw ard F rey declar­ed, “ In v iew o f the im pending law , we m ust see th a t no o rgan­iza tion inclined tow ard socialism is given a place on the ba llo t.” Im m ed ia te ly , the Socia list W o rk ­ers P a rty was banned from the b a llo t fo r the 1952 pres identia l election, even though i t had com­plied w ith the requirem ents o f the election laws.

Since th a t tim e, m ounting pub­lic p ro tests and d iff ic u lt ie s in ob­ta in in g cou rt approval, fo r th is undem ocratic law have compelled the State to re tre a t from th is a r ­b it ra ry position. M oreover, the S ta te has found i t necessary to revise and amend po rtions o f the Act.'' The amendments were de­signed to tigh ten up the law to im prove the chances o f co u rt ac­tion favorable to the state. They do not m itig a te the dangers o f the A ct.

The C itizens’ C o m m i t t e e A g a in s t the T rucks Law believes th a t th is agreem ent and the re ­tre a t by the State is an im p o r­ta n t v ic to ry fo r a ll the people o f

M ich igan. W e fee l proud th a t our Com m ittee, by its organized edu­cationa l and p u b lic ity w ork, has been able to help in th is f ig h t.

However, ou r sa tis fac tion is qu a lified by the fa c t th a t the T rucks A c t, w ith its loose and vague de fin itions and its a rb it ra ­ry procedures pa tte rned a fte r po­lice state systems, rem ains on the sta tu te books.

We hold w ith Judge Theodore Levin who, in his d issen ting op in­ion in Federal C ourt, said “ This act, i f allowed to stand, w ill con­tr ib u te to the creation in th is coun try o f th a t phenomenon so fa m il ia r in to ta lita r ia n countries — the public advocacy on the p a rt o f law -ab id ing citizens o f a ste­reotyped po litica l ideology and the s t if l in g o f the k ind o f free in q u iry and investiga tion th a t has characterized the g ro w th o f our democracy.”

He also said th a t the Trucks A c t is “ an a rb itra ry exercise o f police powers th a t by unnecessary in te rfe rence w ith the guarantees o f free speech and assembly, v io ­la te the due process clause o f the Fourteenth A m endm ent.”

W hile the C irc u it C ourt agree­m en t narrow s the fie ld o f the la w ’s app lica tion , the law its e lf rem ains as a con tinu ing th re a t to our c iv il libe rties . We a i t de­term ined to continue our e ffo r ts in opposition to the law, confident th a t i t w ill be declared unconsti­tu tiona l.

We wish to thank a ll supporters o f our past e ffo rts , and to pledge ou r continued a c t iv ity u n til the law is s tricken fro m the sta tu te books o f the State o f M ich igan.

Republican P a rty and convert it in to an in s tru m en t to fu r th e r his am b ition to become the f ir s t fa s ­c is t President o f the U n ited States.

A lm o s t the en tire ca p ita lis t press cheered w ild ly when Sec­re ta ry Stevens prom ised to back up a general who was threatened and insu lted by M cC arthy fo r obeying executive orders no t to discuss certa in in fo rm a tio n about the A rm y ’s purge o f a den tis t accused o f “ cqm m unist” associa­tions.

This tim e M cC arthy had gone too fa r , the press exulted. The m orale o f the armed forces was a t stake, and th is tim e the E isen­hower a d m in is tra tion w ould have to stand up to M cC arthy and te ll h im , “ Thus fa r , and no fa r th e r , ’ etc., etc.

B u t a ll M cC arthy had to do was stand firm and ta lk tough. Stevens was summoned to a m eeting w ith the Republican members o f M cC arthy ’s com m it-^ tee. ‘-‘T hrice M cC arthy threatens' to leave the room and s p lit the Republican p a r ty w ide open there and then.” (A lsops, Feb. 28) Stevens cap itu la ted , endorsing a w r itte n “ M emorandum o f U nder­s tand ing” which granted M cC arthy eve ry th in g he demanded. In re tu rn Stevens claimed he had an u n w ritte n prom ise th a t M cC arthy would stop brow beating A rm y o f­ficers. W hen he to ld th is to the press, M cC arthy pub lic ly called h im a lia r . Stevens, sobbing, said he m ig h t have to res ign u n til E isenhower assured him it wasn’t

.necessary.The cheers o f the press van ish ­

ed. I f they d idn ’t exa c tly sob, the ‘ed ito ria ls expressed a n g u i s h , m ournfulness and fea r. E isen­hower had le t them down. Stevens had said, “ Thus fa r , and perhaps a l i t t le fa r th e r .” They hoped the

(C ontinued on page 3)

Resolution Cites Peril Of Fascism

First R epo rt On M y Tour

By Murry WeissPITTSBURGH, Feb. 20 — Pittsburgh is the division

point between the Eastern and Midwestern part of my tour. I arrived here Thursday with a group of comrades who drove down fro m B u ffa lo 9-

A panel discussion on the to p ic : “ Is M cC arthyism a Threat to Am erican Freedom ?,” scheduled to be held in a V a lley S tream, N . Y. public school, was cancelled by order o f the D is tr ic t Board of Education.

w ith me.I t was la te in the evening when

we reached the steel center. The g low o f the open hearth furnaces touched up the h ills . The B u ffa lo comrades to ld me th a t the n igh ts were b r ig h te r in the years o f f u l l capacity production. Now m any o f the furnaces are banked. P roduction is down below 80% ; and in Youngstow n, 70 m iles northw est, i t is below 70%.

P ittsb u rg h is a good place to look back a t the f irs t leg o f the tou r. I t ’s been 15 years since I was here. Much has happened since th a t tim e and much has changed. B u t m any th ings seem the same. We were deep in a “ recession” the la s t tim e I was here in 1939.

I was rem inded o f th is when we stopped a t a re s ta u ra n t on the o u ts k ir ts o f tow n and picked up a paper, the P itts b u rg h Press. I t was fu l l o f “ o p tim is tic ” specula­tions on how the economic decline, which has s truck w ith such force a t the steel in d u s try , is “ leve ling o f f . ”

M eantim e, the o f f ic ia lly ac­knowledged num ber o f unemployed in th is key in d u s try grow s fro m month to m onth. The “ leve ling o f f ” ta lk is ju s t tha t — ta lk .

L a te r when we met the P it ts ­burgh comrades they showed me a fron t-page s to ry in another d a ily paper about m y m eeting. There was the usual garbled ac­count o f w ha t the Socia lis t W ork -

We re p rin t the above especially app rop ria te cartoon from the Sept. 22, 1952, issue o f The M il i ­ta n t on the occasion o f ou r ce lebra tion o f the 10th ann iversary o f Laura G ray 's f i r s t cartoon fo r th is paper, published on M arch 4, 1944. On Page 2 we re p rin t o ther examples o f her fam ous c a r­toons, some o f which have been reproduced around the world . A lso on Page 2 are a number o f tr ibu te s to ou r Laura from a ll pa rts o f the coun try .

#/30 for 4 0 ”Program Wins Growing Support

ers P a rty is and w ha t i t stands fo r , bu t the comrades were ju s t i­f ia b ly g ra tif ie d w ith the resu lts o f th e ir fo rce fu l p u b lic ity cam­paign.

A nd the m eeting we held the fo llo w in g n ig h t fu l ly rewarded th e ir serious e ffo rts . The audience was a representative cross section. There were w orkers fro m steel, unemployed, Negroes, and some students.

The hard w ork in p repa ring the m eeting was matched by close a t­ten tion to a ll the deta ils o f p lan ­n ing a successful m eeting — dec- ora tions, lite ra tu re , and the a r ­rangem ents fo r an in fo rm a l so­cia l a f fa ir fo llo w in g the meeting. I t w ent o f f ve ry w e ll. The que.-- tion-and-discussion period carried over to the social p a r t o f the evening.

A ll the m eetings thus fa r have been d is tinguished by th is h igh level o f o rgan iz ing e ffo r t . One has to trave l th rough the branch­es on a to u r to appreciate fu lly the accumulated know-how and o rgan iza tiona l s k ill o f our cadres

So fa r I have had m eetings in N ew ark, Philade lph ia , Lynn , Bos­ton, B u ffa lo and P ittsbu rgh .

M y f i r s t m eeting was in New­ark . I t was ve ry in s tru c tive to me. I found the deepest in te rest in the problem o f unem ploym ent and its re la tio n to the th re a t of M cC arthy ism . A c tu a lly I have been speaking on M cC arthy ism

(Continued on page 2)

The movement fo r a 30-hour week at 40 hours’ pay to combat unem ploym ent is ga the ring m o­mentum . T h is program , f irs t proposed in the M ilita n t, is being w ide ly discussed in labor circles and union pub lica tions and is ga in ing new advocates.

In the CIO U n ited Autom obile W orkers, the pow erfu l Ford Local 600, F lin t C hevro let Local 659 and the C a lifo rn ia General M otors locals have been h itt in g hard on th is issue fo r several months. Favorable discussion on “ 30 fo r 40” also appears in the Feb. issue o f the Voice o f Local 212, newspaper o f the union o f the fo rm e r la rge s t B riggs p lan t now incorporated in to C hrys ler.

“ F IE R C E R C O M P E T IT IO N ”F rank M arqua rt, Education

D irec to r o f Local 212, in a column on technological unem ­ploym ent th rough autom ation, reports : “ A g row ing movement fo r 30 hours a week w ith 40 hours pay m ay soon' be ju s t as logica l as the movement fo r the e igh t-hou r day was back in 1886.”

C itin g the e f fo r t o f the cor­pora tions to m a in ta in h igh p ro fits by c u ttin g labor costs through e lim in a tin g workers, M arqua rt says: “ The fie rce r the com petition the more intense the drive fo r reducing labo r costs. T h is is w hy General M otors is go ing to spend one to tw o b illio n do lla rs over tin next tw o years to modernize its p lan ts. Ford w il l spend 600 m il­lion do lla rs fo r the same purpose. C h rys le r bought the B rig gs plants to im prove its com petitive posi­tion and m illio n s o f do lla rs w ill be spent to improve, a ll Chrysle i p lan ts.”

R A IS E D IN U P W AT his problem o f autom ation,

combined w ith the economic down­

tu rn th a t has increased national unem ploym ent to between 4,500,- 000 and 5,000,000 workers, has b ro ug h t the issue o f “ 30 fo r 40” even in to an in du s try liko meat-

Still ‘Last Hired And First Fired’

Racial d isc rim ina tion in em ­ploym ent has been accentuated by g row ing unem ploym ent, declared W a lte r W hite , ex­ecutive secre tary o f the N a ­tiona l Association fo r the A d ­vancement o f Colored People, to the Senate Labor C om m it­tee hearing, Feb. 25, on an FEPC b ill.

The N A A C P leader cited a U.S. Census report in d ica ting th a t unem ploym ent among Ne­gro men was tw ice tha t among w h ite males in January.

“ So fa r as they [N eg ro w o rke rs ] are concerned the depression which many per­sons discuss from an academic- standpo in t is now here. . . In January the Census figu re fo r unem ploym ent was 3.5 per cent fo r the w h ite popu lation and 6.1 per cent fo r the colored. I t was even worse among colored male workers because unem ploym ent among them was 7 per cent as com­pared w ith 3.5 per cent, fo r w h ite men.”

CIO President W a l t e r Rent her said the need fo r federal fa ir em ploym ent prac­tices leg is la tion “ is greater and more urgent now than it has ever been in the past” because o f the economic s itua tion .

packing. “ A im fo r 30 hr. Week — 40 hr. Pay” is the banner headline over a s ta tem ent in the Feb. Packinghouse W orke r by H aro ld N ielsen, D ire c to r o f D is tr ic t 1, CIO U n ited Packinghouse W o rk ­ers.

N ielsen cites a previous a rtic le by U P W sec. Treas. H athaw ay, en titled , “ Here Come the M a­chines, W hat Is U P W A P o licy? ” th a t poses the problem s o f tech­no logica l im provem ents, speed-up and unem ploym ent. P o in tin g out th a t the union docs no t oppose technological im provem ents, N ie l­son states th a t nevertheless i f the present trend of w ip in g ou t jobs continues, “ we may w e ll find a goodly portion o f our members classified as D .I’ .s.” He there fore urges the program th a t "m u s t be pressed fo r w ith every means at. ou r disposal i f we are to safe­guard ou r people against mass unem ploym ent and its dam aging e ffect upon our whole economy.

“ We have said, fo r instance, tha t a 30 hour week w ith 40 hours pay would be a desirable ih in g : and we have also said tha t, as a m a tte r o f p la in r ig h t and justice, any benefits accru ing to any em­ployer by reason o f I he in tro du c­tion o f new machines should be shared by the employees."

M AJO R G O A L OF U N IO NThe “ m a jo r goal o f th is un ion,”

insists N ielsen, should be “ a 40 hour pay check fo r 30 hours w ork and a fa ir share o f the packers’ p ro fits fo r our people.”

S up po rting the im pera tive need to f ig h t fo r “ 30 fo r 40” Is the latest, figures on unem ploym ent insurance claims. Such cla im s rose 'o 2,179,000 in m id-Feb., by fa r the h ighest since the Feb. 1950 peak o f 2,400,000, when o ffic ia l unem ploym ent figures reached 4,- 684,000. '

By Joseph Keller Aroused by the growing

power of McCarthyite fas­cism, as demonstrated in theW isconsin senator’s bold moves to b r in g -the Pentagon under his con tro l, the N e i^ Y o rk C ity CIO Council on Feb. 25 unanim ously adopted a reso lu tion ca llin g upon the “ na tiona l C IO to organize and lead th is figh t to preserve the basic Am erican libe rtie s from destruction .”

Recognizing tha t labor is the on ly force in Am erica w h ich can smash M cC arthy ism , the la rges t local CIO Council in A m erica also calls on a ll its own local a ffilia te s to “ organize and lead the f ig h t against M cC arthy and the people who would subvert and destroy our basic A m erican freedom s.”

“ D A Y OF IN F A M Y ”The council’s reso lu tion describ­

ed Wednesday, Feb. 24, 1954, as “ a ‘Day o f In fa m y .’ ” F o r on th a t day “ our coun try w itnessed the ignom inious surrender o f the Am erican A rm y and the G overn­m ent o f the U n ited States to th a t m o s t dangerous demagogue, Senator Joseph M cC arthy o f W isconsin.”

The reso lu tion declares: “ No longer can we s it id ly by and watch the antics o f M cC arthy and Ills Republican cohorts • w ith o u t re a liz in g th a t our basic libe rties ire in m orta l danger.” I t the re ­fore po in ts to the need fo r the CIO and the labor movement to take, the lead in the figh t.

S IL E N T ON DEM O CRATS The leaders o f the Council did

not see fit. to po in t out th a t the Dem ocratic p a r ty leaders, includ- :ng its so-called “ fa ir dealers” like Senator Lehman, have cap i­tu la ted to M cC arthy ju s t as ignom in iously as E isenhower and Secretary o f the A rm y Stevens. Lehman and his fe llow “ lib e ra l” Senators voted fo r the funds to fue l M cC arthy ’s offensive to “ smash” the unions, as W estbrook Pegler stated the fascist aim in a recent column.

The reso lu tion also contains a grave weakness in com pla in ing th a t M cC arthy “ is no t f ig h tin g an honest ba ttle aga inst com­m unism .” Here the New Y o rk C ity CIO Council is fa ll in g in to the M cC a rth y ite trap . The in s ta n t you accept M cC arthy ’s prem ise th a t “ communism is a menace,” then M cC arthy can make m ince­meat o f you r com pla in ts about bis methods. Th is is the ve ry reason w hy Democrats and Republicans who are ostensib ly aga inst M cC arthy ’s , methods, crum ble under his f irs t blow'.

S IG N IF IC A N T S T A N DNevertheless, the stand o f the

New Y o rk C ity CIO is extrem e ly s ig n ifica n t in p o in tin g to the on ly source o f e ffec tive leadership and s trugg le aga inst M cC arthy ism . Organized labor, w h ich is re a lly the main ta rg e t o f fascism , is th e on ly power th a t can smash M c­C a rth y ’s drive to become the Am erican H itle r .

Th is power can be e ffe c tive ly mobilized, however, on ly i f i t is independent o f the o ld-line cap i­ta lis t pa rties and po litic ians. I t is necessary fo r labo r to prepare fo r a life -and-death ba ffle fo r power in A m erica aga inst the cap ita lis t cohorts o f fascism.

Here, the New Y o rk C ity CIO could have s truck a m ore te ll in g blow- i f i t had urged the fo rm a ­tion o f labo r’s own p a rty . Reliance on the old parties o r any sector o f them to p u t up a serious f ig h t aga inst on rush ing M c­C arthy ism is a po licy o f suicide.

The CIO C ouncil’s reso lu tion spoke o f the “ s ta r t lin g p a ra lle l” between the M cC arthy ite develop­ments and “ recent European h is ­to ry ,” inc lud ing that o f G erm any and Ita ly . The most s ta r t lin g is precisely the reliance on “ lesser e v il" cap ita lis t po litic ians, instead o f labo r’s own organized m ig h t.

PlIEP Two T H E M I L I T A N T Monday, March 8, 1954

In Honor of Laura GrayPeople who never ta lk themselves up don’t

a lw ays escape the encom iastic comments o f others. T h is is happening r ig h t now in the case o f Laura G ray, in whose honor the New Y ork Local o f the SW P is th ro w in g a p a rty on the occasion o f her ten th ann ive rsa ry as s ta f f ca r­toon is t o f the M il ita n t. T h is is re a lly a na tion ­w ide a f fa ir . The New Y ork Local is s tag ing the celebration , bu t a ll the members o f the p a rty and a ll the readers o f the M il ita n t are present w ith you in s p ir it . A nd we are a ll saying, “ Thank you, La u ra ; Laura , you’ re w onderfu l.”

The p ro le ta rian movem ent takes g rea t pride in its in te llec tua ls and a r t is ts ; a ll the m ore so, since, under the present conditions o f the s tru g ­gle in th is coun try , i t can boast so few o f them. There is a reason fo r th is scarc ity , b u t the re is also a reason w h y we count on its remedy. The re vo lu tio n a ry w orkers and the a rtis ts need each other, and th e ir union w il l be a certa in con­sequence o f new developments in the com ing stages o f ou r s trugg le fo r Socia lis t A m erica.

In our present class society;/ the in te llec tua ls and the a rtis ts don’t ge t a fa ir chance. By them ­selves, they are weak. They are no t a s e lf-s u ff i­c ien t class, b u t ra th e r a selection o f exceptional people, who in seeking to rea lize themselves — w h ich means, f i r s t o f a ll, to be themselves — req u ire the support o f a class w h ich represents a power.

N e a rly a ll o f them, a t the present tim e , are consciously o r unconsciously servants o f the ru l­in g power o f the dom inant class o f exp lo iters, and depend on its patronage. B u t they pay a price fo r th is allegiance which s tr ikes a t th e ir ve ry reason fo r being. T h e ir in ne r compulsion is to p o rtra y re a lity , to te ll the t ru th as they see it . B u t th is inne r com pulsion runs up against the con trad ic tion th a t the class society, which is founded on lies, has no use fo r the t ru th and savage ly persecutes those who p o rtra y it .

The Artist’s Bread of LifeT h is places the a r t is t before a cruel dilem m a.

He needs freedom above eve ry th ing — the fre e ­dom “ to draw the th in g as he sees i t ” ; th a t is the a r t is t ’s bread o f life . The denial o f th is r ig h t tu m s the a r t is t ’s bread in to a stone. B u t there is no th in g he can do about i t by h im se lf.

The so-called “ ivo ry tow e r” is no t a place o f re fuge bu t o f exile fro m the real w o rld . The sa lvation o f the a r t is t is to a lly h im se lf w ith a power which w ill p e rm it him to do his w o rk — th a t is, to liv e and be his rea l se lf — and p ro te c t and sustain h im in its perform ance. There is such a power, and the a r t is t should recognize i t and seek alliance w ith it . T h a t is the modern w o rk in g class, represented by its conscious vanguard, whose cause is served only by tru th . B y th a t fac t, i t is the n a tu ra l a lly and p ro tec to r o f a ll tru th-seekers, among whom the a r t is t stands in f i r s t place. The alliance o f the tru e a r t is t w ith the labor movement is the con­d itio n f o r his own em ancipation.

I f the a r t is t needs the labor movement, no less does the labo r movem ent need the a rtis t.

The w orkers need not on ly the crude tru th which is the u g ly re a lity o f th e ir d a ily existence. They need also the t ru th which illum ina te s and inspires, wh ich elevates and ennobles, the tru th which shines w ith a b lin d in g lig h t, the lig h t which on ly the a r t is t can give. I t is a lucky day when our movem ent f ind s such a person. A nd i t is the p a rt o f w isdom , as w e ll as o f g ra titu de , to cherish the alliance and to celebrate it , as you are do ing to n ig h t a t the p a r ty fo r Laura G ray.

On Sandstone PrisonI don’ t doubt tha t Lau ra made her f i r s t ap­

pearance in the o ffice o f the M ilita n t so qu ie tly and unob trus ive ly — as is her m anner — th a t scarcely anyone noticed her in the busy hubbub in w h ich a paper a lw ays goes to press. B u t she came in to Sandstone Prison, where some o f us were res id ing a t the tim e, w ith a c la tte r and a bang. H e r f i r s t cartoon scattered the g ra y sha­dows o f the prison like the po w erfu l head ligh t o f a locom otive ro llin g down the r ig h t o f way. E very week th e re a fte r we looked fo r her ca r­toons, and they brigh tened the prison day each tim e they came.

The readers o f the M il ita n t everywhere, im ­mersed in the prosaic deta ils o f everyday life and the rou tine tasks o f the s tru g g le fo r a bet­te r w orld , have greeted her weekly d raw ings w ith the same g ra titu d e and enthusiasm ; and have derived fro m them the same in sp ira tion , the same a n tic ip a to ry g lim pse o f a b e tte r w o rld w here in a ll people w ill express themselves bet- te r, more com plete ly, in more e ffec tive •■'m- m union w ith others; th a t is to say, m ore a r t is t ic ­a l ly

I speak o f th is as an an tic ipa tion . F o r in the socia lis t society o f the free and equal, a ll w ill be a rt is ts ; a ll w il l have the means and the op­p o rtu n ity , and the favo rab le social env iron­ment, to tap th e ir springs o f ta le n t and t V i r in s tin c t fo r self-expression in a r t is t ic fo rm , wh ich are today hidden, suppressed and denied. The true a rtis ts , who fee l im pelled to d raw the tru e p ic tu re o f li fe as they see it , no t on ly as i t is b u t as i t ough t to be and w il l be, can f in d the fu lle s t freedom fo r the exercise o f th is im pulse today on ly in a lliance w ith the g rea t labo r movement, which is fo rc in g its way, th rough the blood and f i l t h o f c a p ita lis t society, to the new w orld o f tru th and beauty. In p a r t i­cu lar. the revo lu tiona ry p a rty , which represents the conscious elem ent o f th is g re a t movement, is the na tu ra l a lly o f the a sp ir in g a rt is t.

M any o f them w il l come to us in the fu tu re , and i f we are wise we w ill receive them g lad ly . O ur Laura , ca rtoon is t fo r the M ilita n t, is the advance guard, the ha rb inge r o f the poets and a rt is ts to come. In honoring her, on the occa­sion o f her ten th ann iversary on the s ta f f o f the M ilita n t, we are honoring th e paper, the p a r ty and ourselves. A nd we are honoring , at the same tim e , the com ing grand alliance o f revo lu tion is ts and a rtis ts in the g re a t ba ttle where in no one can fa il.

— James P. Cannon

. . . Report on My lou r(Continued from page 1)

and the depression since the ex­perience o f th a t opening m eeting in Ne.wark.

I ta lked to a Negro w orker fro m one o f the la rge indus* r ia l p lan ts in N ew ark. He was an old- tim e rad ica l a lthough s t i l l young i l l years. He to ld me, as i f in se lf- reproach, th a t “ fro m a hu m an ita r­ian po in t o f v iew unem ploym ent is no th ing to be g lo a tin g about B ut I can’t help fee ling ,” he said, "a sense o f v ind ica tion when I meet some o f the guys I ’ve been ta lk in g to fo r years, and who kep t te ll in g me, ‘Go on; th ings are go ing to be prosperous fo r 50 years,’ and now I meet them com ing ou t o f p lan t personnel lo ok in g distressed and dazed.” He sm iled. “ I guess I ’m on ly human to feel th a t way, a f te r a ll I ’ve been ta lk in g to these guys fo r years. A nyw ay, maybe the y ’1! wake up now.”

IN P H IL A D E L P H IA ,In Philadelph ia we re a lly had

an a ll-day conference o f the Dela­w are V a lle y SW P which wound up w ith a sp irited mass m eeting a t n igh t. There were comrades fro m M ary land , A llen to w n , South­ern New Jersey and Philadelph ia. I had the . o p p o rtu n ity o f ta lk in g to some frie n d s who were mem­bers o f the independent U n ited E le c tr ica l W orkers Union. One o f them to ld me how incensed m il i­ta n t un ion is ts were a t the shame­fu l perform ance o f Carey o f the IU E -C IO , who greeted M cC ar­th y ’s invasion o f the e lectrica l in d u s try by appealing to him to go a fte r the leaders o f the U E .

Carey appa ren tly tho ugh t th is was clever tac tics fo r w inn ing the pending election contests be­tween the r iv a l U E and IU E -C IO in a num ber o f Eastern plants. B u t the b ig Westinghou.se plant in Philadelph ia went U E despite Carey’s w itch -hun t tactics.

B O S T O N -L Y N NM y next stop was Lynn , Mass.

F o r the f i r s t tim e in m any years the p a rty conducted a pub lic m eet­in g in th is town. I was a li t t le skep tica l about a tte m p tin g a m ee ting in Lynn . B u t the com­rades were determ ined to answer M cC a rth y ’s recent w itch -h u n t v is ­i t to th a t e lectrica l center and the y proved to be r ig h t. W e had a good tu rn ou t o f w o rkers who came down in response to le a fle t and newspaper p u b lic ity and 1 devoted a good p a rt o f m y ta lk to Carey’s treachery in the f ig h t aga inst M cC arthy ism .

The nex t n ig h t I spoke a t the Boston SW P headquarters. By e igh t o’clock the ha ll was com­p le te ly fu ll . A nd by 8:15 (the scheduled opening tim e ) i t was

an overflow ' crowd w ith s tanding "onm on ly th roughou t the m eet­ing. A crowd o f students had re ­sponded to the energetic le a fle t cam paign. I ’d say about 10% of them were p ro -M cC arthy, another 10% d e fin ite ly opposed and 80% in terested and curious.

T h a t v ’as before the m eeting started . I t was qu ite a sess;on. I counted over 40 questions from the audience and any num ber o f in fo rm a l questions a f te r the m eeting was adjourned.

The discussion ranged over the whole fie ld o f M arx ism . A t one po in t I found m yse lf defending the r ig h t o f a people to social revo lu tion . Then I paused, and realized th a t I vois speaking in Boston, cradle o f the f i r s t A m e r­ican revo lu tion So I gave them a lecture on the o rig in s o f the revo lu tion o f 1776, the ro le o f the mechanics and w orkers o f Boston in the g rea t social upheaval th a t transfo rm ed A m erica and the w orld .

One o f m y questioners persisted in contending th a t there were “ good” and “ bad” revo lu tions, and the good ones were those th a t were kep t under con tro l by responsible au tho ritie s , as in the f ir s t A m erican revo lu tion . T re ­minded him th a t the charge o f “ u n c o n tro lla b ility ” was the pet slogan o f the Tories against Bos­ton ’s Sons o f L ib e r ty and the leader o f the Am erican revo lu ­tion is ts , Sam Adams. I to ld h im th a t the possessing classes a l­ways feel th a t a revo lu tion is “ uncon tro llab le ” i f i t deprives them o f th e ir p riv ileged m in o r ity position as the old antiquated so­c ie ty giyes w ay to the new.

L a te r one o f,th e comrades (old me tha t (h is questioner turned to his ne ighbor w ith a puzzled look and said. “ He must, have studied a d iffe re n t h is to ry course than I ’m ta k in g .”

T le f t Boston w ith a fee lin g of deep g ra tif ic a tio n th a t wre had been able to spread our M a rx is t ideas to a new' c irc le o f youth due to the w 'onderful w o rk o f the comrades.

I hope to re tu rn there soon and I f i r m ly expect to see m any o f these students f ig h tin g actively in the ranks o f M arx ism .

B U F F A L O M E E T IN GIn m any w'ays, B u ffa lo , m y

next stop, was the h igh po in t o f m y to u r so fa r. T had never had the chance to meet most o f the comrades there o r to see the group in action. In B u ffa lo we have a branch we can be proud of. I t is w ith o u t doubt the leadrng rad ica l w orkers p a rty in the c ity . I t has been the b u tt o f reaction­a ry a ttacks by newspapers, police,

and the F B I. B u t i t has fo u g h t back w ith such persistence, g r i t and s k ill, th a t one feels they have gained in s ta tu re as a resu lt.

A speaker in our movement th rive s on the k ind o f crowd we la d a t the B u ffa lo m eeting. Fresh, eager to learn , young w orkers and students. The audience show­ed its w o rk in g class com position by the fa c t th a t Negroes am ount­ed to rough ly h a lf the audience. There were w orkers fro m every im p o rtan t in d u s try and union. Old f ig h te rs and seasoned veterans o f s tr ik e ba ttles , young w orkers hearing a socia lis t speech fo r the f i r s t tim e. The audience was sym ­pa thetic , a le r t to every idea the speaker tr ie d to express. They worked w ith the speaker and fe lt the co llective sa tis fac tion o f as­s im ila tin g the analysis.. The headquarters o f the branch is a model fo r any w o rk in g class o rgan iza tion . A com bination o f fun c tiona l s im p lic ity and home­like fa c ilit ie s fo r re laxa tion . A f te r the m eeting, the a f fa ir was tra n s ­form ed in to an evening o f en te r­ta inm en t and I had a chance to see how these soc ia lis t f ig h te rs , these v e ry serious people, know how to have fun . They pu t on a s k it th a t had me in stitches along w ith the rest o f the audience.

Then fo llow ed hours o f in fo rm a l discussion. The crowd seemed to w a n t to stick together. Th>s was th e ir home. You fe lt the pride o f w orkers in an o rgan iza tion they had b u ilt . I t was the irs .

N ew ark, P h ilade lph ia (D e la ­ware V a lle y ), Lvnn, Boston, B u f­fa lo , and now P ittsbu rgh . The w arm fr ie n d ly faces o f m y com­rades in these branches are the p ;c tu re o f devotion and clear so­c ia lis t purpose.

These are among the best peo­ple in the w o rld and they pe rfo rm th e ir g reat h is to ric m ission w ith a sense o f resp on s ib ility and un­beatable revo lu tiona rv zeal.

The s p ir it o f the SW P can best, be exem plified by P ittsb u rg h . A group o f young comrades from d iffe re n t pa rts o f the country have recen tly a rrived here, to help the comrades who have held the fo r t fo r m any years. They are ta c k lin g the problem o f bu ild in g a branch w ith such zest and de­te rm in a tio n th a t i t is im possib ’e to doubt, they w ill succeed. W e’ll be hearing a lo t fro m P ittsbu rgh in the next period.

And w hat w i l l the rest of- the to u r be like ? As I leave one c ity and go to the next I t r y to im agine how i t w il l be. B u t the re a lity is a lw ays be tte r, more ex­c itin g , than the prospect. I t ’s a w onderfu l experience. I w ish a ll ou r comrades could go on a na­tion a l tou r.

N E W YO RK. Feb. 28 — Laura G ray, the M il ita n t ’s pow erfu l cartoonist, was guest o f honor last evening at a d inner and celebration at the M ilita n t ha ll here on the occasion o f the 1.0th anniversary o f her f irs t M ilita n t cartoon, published M arch 4, 1944. She was w a rm ly acclaimed by a host o f friends and comrades.

The rna iii fea tu re o f the a f fa ir was La u ra ’s own cartoons, some ou ts tand ing examples o f which, enlarged and m ounted on w h ite backgrounds, were d i s p l a y e d around tbe ha ll. A t the end o f the d inner, these were auctioned o f f fo r con tribu tions o f from $5 to §15 each.

Laura made one o f her very ra re ta lks. I t was typ ica lly modest and b rie f. She thanked the comrades fo r th e ir expression o f apprecia tion and added: “ The p riv ilege has been a ll m ine.”

“ T R U L Y W O R T H Y "Reba A ubrey, as cha irm an, read

telegram s and le tte rs from So­c ia lis t W orkers P a rty groups and M ilita n t readers in a ll p a rts o f the coun try expressing th e ir w e ll- wishes and th e ir apprecia tion fo r Lau ra ’s a r t is t ic achievements.

“ The M ilita n t, in m y opin ion, is the finest w o rk in g - class paper ever published — ba r none. And in Laura, the M ilita n t has found a po litica l a r t is t t r u ly w o rthy o f it . T h a t is the b iggest com p li­ment I can pay her,” said A r t Preis, s ta f f member o f the paper, who was m ain speaker.

“ Lau ra G ray is the supreme po litica l a r t is t and cartoon is t o f th is suprem ely p o lit ic a l age,’ the speaker said. “ T ha t is w hy I th in k i t im p o rta n t th a t I reca ll fo r the record — the h is ­to r ica l record — how Laura came to be the M il ita n t cartoon is t. I t is an in s tru c tive and in s p ir in g s to ry .”

P A R T Y A C T IV IS TShe was recru ited in to the -Chi­

cago Local o f the SW P in early 1942 by o rgan izer Dave Weiss, recalled the speaker. “ I v iv id ly recollect the f irs t tim e I ever saw Laura . I t was at a re g u la r mem­bership m eeting o f the Chicago branch back in Ju ly 1942. T jia t evening I was a tten d in g the branch m eeting fo r the f irs t tim e ;as the new organ izer.

“ I studied the faces o f the com­rades, m ost o f whom I had not met before. Am ong others, I took p a rtic u la r note o f a pale, d e lic a te

’ featured,, somewhat fra g ile -lo o k ­in g youhg woman s it t in g very qu ie tly a t the back o f the ha ll, up against the w a ll. No I didn’ t spot her as a cartoon is t o r an a rtis t. 1 confess my f irs t tho ugh t was, 1 wonder i f she’s g e ttin g enough

to ea t? ’ N o th in g in L a u ra ’s ou t­ward appearance indicates the tremendous power o f her cartoons.

“ W ell, the re was a lo t o f ta lk a t th a t m eeting. I t seemed every­one had som ething to say. Ex- rep t Laura . She listened in te n tly , m issing no th ing. B u t then we came to the ca ll fo r volunteers fo r a M il ita n t d is tr ib u tio n . And the th in g I noticed at once, and tha t made the occasion s tick in my memory, was L a u ra ’s response. She was the firs t to ra ise her hand.

“ A J E N N IE H IG G IN S ”“ So i t was, th a t long before 1

knew L a u ra ’s w ork as an a rtis t, I knew her w o rk and devotion a a p a rty member, as a p o litica l, and as a J im m y H igg ins o f the revo lu tion , or, i f I m ay coin a name, a Jennie H igg ins.

“ G radua lly , I found out fro m others about L a u ra ’s s ta tu re as an a rt is t, her ou ts tand ing w ork in scu lp ture and I had the pleas­ure o f seeng some o f her ex­tra o rd in a ry creations in one o f the c o u n try ’s m a jo r a r t museums When Laura came to us, she was already a recognized, d is ting u ish ­ed a rtis t. B u t how d iffe re n t Laura was fro m some others o f the a r t is t ic and in te llec tua l w o rld who have paid v is its to the w orkers movement. She expected no special trea tm e n t o r rank. She came to serve. And she has boundless respect fo r and con­fidence in the workers.

“ T h a t w in te r Laura would go cu t w ith the M il ita n t o r leafle ts in a fo o t o f snow, w ay ou t on some open roadway before a p lant gate, in sub-zero weather. Scarce able to stand up aga inst the famous Chicago w ind, La u ra wei out and did her du ty . In her case fo r she was in f r a i l health , s'1 was re a lly endangering herself.

“ So we cooked up a l i t t le ‘plot.,’ a ‘conspiracy’ among the branch leaders. We agreed among ourselves no t to g ive L a u ra any m ore outside assignments. D id you wonder, Laura , w hy you r hand was so often overlooked? We were saving you, even i f we d idn ’t know i t a t the tim e, fo r you r ro le as the M il ita n t ’s car­toonist.

CAR TO O N FOR U N IO N“ The com bination o f class con­

sciousness, m ora l courage, p o li­tica l savvy and c la r ity , im ag ina­tion and technical a r t is t ic capacity required fo r a M a rx is t cartoon ist is found so ra re ly , th a t a t ru ly g re a t ca rtoon is t is a once-in-a-

“ / » O u r Hands There Lies the Power But Lots o f Young Ones Do

Reprinted from Issue of A pril 30, 1951

Reprinted from Issue of April 25, 1952

The Judgment o f H istory W alch That Blood Pressure!

Reprinted from Issue of March 16, 1953 Reprinted from Issue of July 9, 1951

Each Militant reader has his favorite Laura Gray four have been selected from her more recent creations cartoons. The editors have made no attempt to pick the merely as representative examples of her art. I t is to be “ best” of the hundreds of masterpieces of cartooning hoped that one day a whole book of her cartoons will be 'Laura Gray has produced in the past 10 years. The above published. I t w ill provide a graphic panorama of our limes.

generation phenomenon. T h a t’s w hy we have been so lucky to find La u ra .”

The speaker re lated how the f irs t cartoon Laura ever drew was fo r a group o f Chicago workers in a union strugg le . !‘I asked Laura i f she would t r y her hand at a cartoon fo r the union paper. That was Lau ra ’s f irs t cartoon. I don’ t have a copy, alas. I don’ t know i f one exists. But from the firs t cartoon, I knew she and the M ilita n t were made fo r each other.”

On a v is i t to New Y ork , the speaker said, he b ro ug h t news o f his “ discovery” to those associat­ed w ith the M il ita n t ’s publication. R e tu rn ing to Chicago he helped persuade Laura to v is it New Y ork w ith the aim in m ind- o f t ry in g her band at a r t w o rk fo r the M ilita n t.

HOW L A U R A W ORKS' “ H er f irs t e f fo r t appeared on M arch 4, 1944. Looking back a th a t cartoon today, from the peak o f La u ra ’s g ro w th to w orld p re ­eminence in her fie ld, i t seems no th ing special o r s ta rtlin g . But at th a t tim e i t came as such a fresh add ition to the paper, adding such a b r ig h t s a tir ic touch th a t our readers everywhere at once hailed and welcomed it. ID p o p u la r ity was assured fro m the f irs t.”

Laura gets the germ o f her cartoon ideas in the w eekly jo in t s ta f f discussions, Preis explained. “ B ut I m ust te ll you th a t these provide on ly the barest h in ts and suggestions. In the end i t is a ll up to the a rtis t.

“ There is no th ing so d iff ic u lt as tra n s la tin g po litica l concepts in to p ic to ria l images — images tha t a t a glance shock, arouse, per suade, move the reader. Laura has th a t special g i f t — th a t com bina­tion o f p o lit ic a l acumen anda rt is t ic a b ility — w h ich enables her to ‘pass a m irac le ,’ to make a m iraculous trans fo rm a tion from these bare, verbal concepts in to a v iv id , pow erfu l, m ov ing p ic to ria l presenta tion .”

A M O D E L A N D E X A M P L E“ P art o f the process is, I be­

lieve, the element o f conscious­ness in her w ork. She th inks deeply about what she is doing. Rut, in addition, the re is hers in ce rity and depth o f fee ling. Even the best o f the bourgeois cartoonists are capable m ere ly of a b r itt le , w it ty comment on men and a ffa irs . Laura i.s imbued w ith great purpose and in te ns ity o’emotion. Thus, her cartoons aremore than gags. They are profound sym bolic representation ' o f the w orld o f s trugg le in which we live .”

Congratulations To Our Laura

“ Your a r t is t ry has s truck many blows fo r the w o rk in g class. Y ou r then-year success is our good fo rtu n e .” (D e tro it SW P.)

“ O ur congra tu la tions and revo­lu tionary ' g reetings on com pletion o f ten years o f T ro ts k y is t achieve­ment. Y ou r w o rk has been an in sp ira tio n to the Bay A rea sup­po rte rs o f the M il ita n t . ” (San Francisco-O akland B r a n c h e s , SW P.)

“ O u r deepest g ra titu d e fo r the in sp ira tion o f you r inva luab le con tribu tion .” (Chicago SW P.)

“ T ru th in a r t in s p ir in g human action — a t ru ly a rt is t ic achieve­m ent." (A rn e Swabeck.)

“ We send w arm est greetings to you on you r ten th anniversary w ith the M ilita n t. Y ou r cartoons have no t on ly g iven i t a l i f t and punch but have also entered you am ong the lis t o f g re a t names in the revo lu tiona ry m ovem ent.” (P h ilade lph ia SW P.)

“ We are as proud o f you as we are o f the M ilita n t, because the two have become inseparable — P would not be the same paper w ith o u t the best revo lu tiona ry cartoon is t as one o f its s ta r a ttrac tions . W ith confidence we look fo rw a rd to another celebra­tion ten years fro m now, when the M il ita n t w i l l be a da ily , read by', m illions , and w ill o ffe r the w o rk o f a whole s ta f f o f cartoon­ists, o f whom you w ill be the in - sp irer, model and dean.” (N ew ark SW P.)

“ Lau ra G ray's cartoons, appear­ing fe g u la r ly in the M il ita n t fo r the past ten years and rep rin ted in the revo lu tiona ry press o f the w orld , consistently d isp lay the indom itable revo lu tiona ry s p ir it so cha racte ris tic o f the a r t is t he rse lf.” (Los Angeles SW P.)

“ We send you ten red roses, cne fo r each good year o f labor fo r the m ost im p o rtan t paper in the w o rld movement o f T ro t­sky ism .” (M innesota SW P.)

“ Your devotion to the socia list cause is a ll the more in s p ir in g when we th in k o f the many a rtis ts and in te llectua ls who once played w ith th a t cause. They were peace-time heroes. You have proven to be one o f the few ( ‘m en’ ) among them .” (Boston SW P.)

Accom panying a g i f t fro m the New Y o rk and Los Angeles locals d f the SW P: “ On th is ten th an­n ive rsa ry o f you r splendid con ir ib u tio n to the cause o f social­ism — th is p rove rb ia l ‘ sm all token’ o f our appreciation, esteem and love.”

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the M il ita n t : “ E the l P. and Ruth N . sold 11 M ilita n ts and fo u r an ti-M cC arth y patm phlets. In Harlem Janet and M ery l sold 34 papers.

“ We are t r y in g a few experim ents a t the h igh schools. G reg and Don sold tw o M ilita n ts and three an ti-M cC arth y

pam phlets a t the f irs t sale and gave out hundreds o f ’ lea fle ts ad ve rtis ing the fo rum on Youth Today. A ga in in H arlem on Sat­urday, M anny and Greg sold 19- M ilita n ts .”

D e tro it L ite ra tu re A gen t Janet M acG regor w rite s , “ We are up to our necks in w ork , bu t Kev is keeping up his rou te in the Ferndale p ro je c t and sold 14 M ilita n ts there Sunday. Sara sold" 12 papers a t a union m eeting .”

L ite ra tu re Agent Dolores Se­v ille reports recent sales by Oakland comrades. “ Sunday we w ent on a sale in San Francisco. L i l sold one M il ita n t ; Ada. e igh t; and Dolores, fo u r. B il l K . sold one an ti-M cC a rth y pam phlet, one copy o f ‘A m erica ’s Road to So-

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“ On the campus B il l sold one M il ita n t ; Leonard sold s ix a n ti- M cC arthy pam phlets and tw o M ilita n ts ; and Dolores sold five an ti-M cC arth y pam phlets. A t a pub lic m eeting B ill sold five M ilita n ts ; Dolores, 11; and L il, five.”

Reader P. L. I), o f Reading, Penna. send best wishes along w ith h is renewal to the M il i ­tan t. “ The M il ita n t is one o f the best labor papers I ever received. S tick fo r the tru th as you see i t and do not be a fra id to stand up fo r you r convictions. A few years yet and a ju s t economic and p o lit ic a l o rder w i l l displace the present inequitab le one, w h ich is the cause o f most o f the w o rld headaches and heartaches.”

W . L . G. o f Raymond, M ont, w rite s , “ I am a M arx ian so­c ia lis t o f a life tim e and I w ent th rough enough m isery w ith the S ta lin is ts no t to take any more chances. O ur whole fig h t is based on common sense and i t should no t be ve ry hard to get th ings stra ightened ou t.”

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The A rtis t’s Stake in the F i g h t Against

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Friday, March 12, 8:30 P.M.

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Vol. X V I I I • No. 10 " ' Monday, March 8, 1954»j4! Ví** /•v • f v

Wall Street Lies About Puerto RicoThe shots tired by three Puerto Rican na­

tionalists in the Mouse of Representatives March I tichoed around the worl'd. The im­mediate reflex of the capitalist press was to picture it as an act o f "insanity.” As proof, Wall Street's propagandists claim (1) that U.S. domination has been beneficial to Puerto Rico, (2) that the Puerto Ricans can have ‘ ‘ independence’' any time they want it, but have overwhelmingly rejected the offer. There­fore to shoot up Congress was "madness.”

W ith in a day the witch hunters began to convert the terrorist deed into grist for their fascist m ill, deliberately claiming it to be part o f a "communist’' conspiracy.

In all this heat there is little light. What is needed is a cool and objective political assess­ment of the affa ir beginning with the aims and methods of the three demonstrators, Lolita Lebron, Rafael C. Miranda and Andres Cor­dero.

Of their courage and spirit o f self-sacrifice, the evidence is graphic enough. A ll three had made up their minds to die fo r their cause. Their objective — to dramatize the plight of Puerto Rico and thereby advance the struggle for independence — w ill meet with sympathetic response throughout the colonial world and among politically conscious workers every­where. But it is not only the road to hell that is paved with good intentions. Despite their courage and lo fty aims, the Puerto Rican ter­rorists did a frightfu l disservice to their own cause, injured the interest's of the Puerto Rican people and of the world labor movement, and played into the hands o f McCarthyite fascism. That is the objective political fact.

The error of these terrorists was to substitute fu tile personal action for the action of the masses. Thereby they reap only condemnation, or at least lack of understanding, from their own people, and set up a fresh obstacle to winning the majority to their views. The reac­tion naturally seizes on this to discredit the aims of the terrorists; and, going a step further, utilizes it to further its own sinister aims.

AM this has been stressed thousands of times by Marxists in the past century. The need to stress it once more — in 1954! — is at bottom another commentary on the decades of crimes committed by Stalinism in the name of Marx­ism which have served to repel sincere, and devoted revolutionists from, the soocialist move­ment and shunt them into the blind alley of individual terrorism.

■Now let us turn to the claims of the capital­ist propagandists. The March 3 Wall Street Journal states them succinctly: “ But there is no injustice to be found in our relations with Puerto Rico. Once a dependency and now a commonwealth, Puerto Rico has been promised its independence by two Presidents and by our United Nations delegate. A ll that they have to do is to ask for it. But they have refused to do this.”

What are the facts? For more than a half century, Wall Street has savagely exploited this tiny but fertile island. In the whole western hemisphere it would be difficu lt to find slums more depressing than those in Puerto Rico. The immigration of hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans into the tenement-ridden areas of New York is sufficient evidence that what they were leaving was not exactly a tropical paradise.

After some 50 years of bleeding Ruerto- Rico white. Wall Street’s political representatives finally offered the Puerto Ricans “ inde­pendence” — if they wanted it. The offer was not entirely disinterested and philanthropic. It coincided with the need of U.S. imperialism to appear before the world as the guardian and banner bearer of demofracy. Dovetailing with the preparations for World W ar 111, it was a diplomatic necessity for American imperialism to clean up a bit, especially before the colonial public. And Puerto Rico had long been held up as the horrible example o f what happens to a land that comes under W all Street's domination.

A t. best it was like a slaveholder offering freedom to a famished slave after years of exploitation, but w ith the proviso that if he takes advantage of the offer he doesn’t eat at all. For the offer of freedom to Puerto Rico carried with it the threat o f economic and poli­tical reprisals that could prove swift death to the island’s economy. I t was fear of this that caused a good many Puerto Ricans to reject the "generous” offer. Thus there is real political substance behind the Puerto Rican terrorist gun play.

Recognition o f this is unconsciously admitted by such a well-known columnist as Anne O'Hare McCormick o f the N. Y. Times in her comments March 3 on the incongruity o f pistol shots in the “ ord inarily sedate Congress” : “ It is as if the solid ground opened and for a shocked instant we caught a w h iff of the bitter political passions boiling up in other sections of the world.” What she caught a w h iff of was the revolutionary powder kegs that American imperialism is incorporating into its basic structure by expanding over the entire world. That includes the powder keg of Puerto Rico.

Let’s consider finally the use the witch hunters are making o f the incident. A typical headline appeared in the March 3 N. Y. World- Telegram and Sun: “ L ink to Red Conspiracy Was Shown.” The actual fact is that the only “ links” so far shown outside of the nationalist political views of the terrorists are that the leader, Lolita Lebron, is a Roman Catholic; and one of her landladies reported that she "kept a Bible by her bed.” None of the witch hunters, however, have tried to use these “ links” to “ associate” her w ith the Roman Catholic Senator McCarthy or the Pope. They want a Moscow address even i f they have to manufacture it.

The authorities claim to have discovered unspecified "Communist literature” in one of the defendant’s homes and House Speaker M artin said they "undoubtedly are Com­munists.” I f this "evidence” is not enough to prove the terrorists are “ communists,” it is at least sufficient to give the alert on how the McCarthyites seek to utilize the terrorist in­cident to whip up a fresh red scare. A new- wave of hysteria is the immediate danger. That is what the labor movement must be prepared to meet.

The shots fired by the Puerto Ricans are symptomatic o f profound evils in America’s relations with the rest of the world. The cause of those evils, like the cause of the witch hunt, is right here at home. Its address is Wall Street. That is where we must direct our attention — not to the diversionary efforts o f the Mc­Carthyites.

T H E & I L 1 T X 9 T

By Murry WeissThe labor movement continues

to fo llow the po licy o f suppo rting the Dem ocratic P a rty . I ts 1954 election po licy is e n tire ly oriented it i th is d irec tion . The te rr ib le e rro r in th is po licy is not tha t the Democrats cannot w in . They may- very w e ll w in the next elections. B u t w hat happens i f they w in th rou gh the support o f labor?

The labo r m ovem ent rem ains cap tive to ca p ita lis t po litica l in ­terests. A nd as long as th a t is true , i t cannot o f fe r the U n ited States bold leadership in over­com ing the oncom ing social c ris is w ith an a n ti-ca p ita lis t p ro ­gram .

By' c lin g in g to the dead past, by hop ing fo r a re tu rn to the New Deal, by dream ing o f the sta tus quo m inus M cC arthy, the labor m ovem ent w i l l bead in to the com ing showdown c ris is to ta lly unequipped fo r its tasks. The com ing c ris is w i l l be solved in a progressive m anner on ly by' a socia list revo lu tion . I f the labor movement rem ains guided by a leadership th a t shuns the socia list revo lu tion , i t w i l l be m ercilessly destroyed by fasc is t counter­revo lu tion . As Danie l De Leon, one o f the g reat pioneer leaders and theoretic ians o f Am erican so­c ia lism sa id : “ W hen a revo lu tion

whether i t w i l l be condemned to pass th rough the bestia l school o f fascism .

W hat is the im m ediate pe r­spective o f A m erican p o lit ic a l development in the l ig h t o f the p o lit ic a l mood o f the w o rk ingclass ?

j i t pending^ and, fo r , w h a te v e r -diggers and ground-hog hunters

W ill Democrats Fight McCarthyism?“ What are the Democrats going to do?"

asked liberal columnist Thomas L. Stokes on Feb. 9, before the Pentagon capitulated to McCarthy. “ They could do something that would be of great value to 'the nation. That would be to accept the gage of battle on the overwhelming issue o f the times, which is McCarthyism. . ."

“ After this (Stevens) debacle,” wrote the liberal N. Y. Past on Feb. 25, “ the great ques­tion is whether the Democrats w ill take up the battle that the Commander-in-Chief has fled. Never did they have a greater chante to serve the country and the cause of world freedom. . .”

Three days later the liberal columnist Max Lemer asked, "W ho is there on the entire Washington scene who is w illing to lead the necessary struggle to protect the nation against this political adventurer gone berserk?”

The Democrats themselves had already answered the question on Feb. 2 when — with one exception — they voted in the Senate for the $214,000 McCarthy demanded for witch- hunting activities next year. It was this vote, indicating that McCarthy need fear no opposi­tion, which emboldened him to reach for the Pentagon.

These votes were positive proof that the Democrats don’t have the nerve to fight Mc­Carthyism. And they don’t have the inclination — deep down, they share McCarthy’s premise that anybody accused of "communist” sym­pathies is automatically suspect.

' Who w ill stop McCarthy? The Spectator, a “ moderate” British weekly, put its finger right On tfre heart of the issue when it wrbte:

“ McCarthy w ill only be stopped by men who are more powerful, more clever aqd more grim ly purposeful than he is himself.”

That excludes both Democrats and Repub­licans, both liberals and conservatives.

Reliance on them w ill produce only greater debacles and fiascos of the Stevens variety, all redounding to the greater strength of Mc­Carthy.

The organized labor movement, by and large, has tried to dodge the issue up to now. But it won’t be able to go on dding this per­manently. There is a power in the land far greater than McCarthy’s — the power lodged in the 17-million-member labor movement, their families and their allies among the m inority groups, the farmers, and the lower middle class. '

I f this power is made “ grim ly purposeful” — that is, if it is alerted to the true proportions of the fascist menace in this country and pro­vided with a proper vehicle o f combat — it can stop McCarthyism cold.

The American people can be alerted to the McCarthyite danger most effectively through calling a Congress of Labor, uniting all sec­tions of the union movement an*d their allies in a serious and democratic discussion o f what McCarthyism is and what it wants.

The proper vehicle of combat is an inde­pendent Labor Party, breaking clean and free from the capitalist parties,' arid mobilizing the strength of the'genuineiy’ anti-M cC i'rthy forces on the decisive Apolitical arena' by running its own candidates for office. "

This w ill stop McCarthyism; nothing less w ill do it.

reason ia not consummated, reac­tio n is the o n ly aUexnalive.”

No doub t the Am erican' w o rk ­in g class w i l l learn independent po litics in the period ahead; tire question is w he the r i t w i l l learn by m aking a tim e ly tu rn and de fea ting the fasc is t th rea t, or

C O A L M IN E R ’S LE T T E RU nder the heading o f “ Depres­

sion Feared” Labo r’s D a ily , Jan. 6, published a le tte r fro m a W est V irg in ia m iner. The le tte r is o f considerable in te res t and we w ill quote i t in fu l l :

“ I see they c la im there are 51 thousand men ou t o f w o rk , a l­most th a t m any in W est V irg in ia alone. More men cu t o f f in 11 m onths o f Republican p ro sp e rity than the whole 20 years under the Dem ocrats. On Cabin Creek and Coal R ive r some m iners are on sta rva tion . A woman to ld me on Cabin Creek she was alm ost a fra id in her home a t day unless she had he r doors locked. H ow can those poor people stand i t three more years?

"T hey have a lm ost bankrupted the fa rm ers in 11 months, t ry in g now to take our social secu rity fro m us old men, and ju s t w a it ­in g on John L. Lew is to make a move so they can break ou r union up. N ow you scabs and seng

and m illiona ires have go t the change you voted fo r. I d idn ’t th in k there were enough men and wom'en in th is coun try th a t would ra th e r go to the Red Cross fo r the ir- f lo u r and depend on catch­in g ground hogs fo r th e ir m eat to elect' a President.

“ We had six panics, 1937, 1948 I860, 1873, 1910, 1929. The one under P resident G ra n t was the w o rs t the w o rld has ever seen (1873). He was a 5 -s ta r general and b ro ther, th is 5 -s ta r president, the way his gang has starred o ff, w i l l be the w o rs t one o f a ll. Jus t w a it one more yea r and see.

G arland VariesP rice H ill, W . Va.”

In m y opin ion th is le tte r ex­presses the th in k in g o f A' w ide section o f Am erican W orkers. The fe a r o f depression,' the deep suspicion th a t_ th e Repub lican P a rty Ls b r in g in g about bad eco- nom ic conditions, the b itte rness’ toward w orkers and fa rm ers who were fooled in to v o tin g fo r Eisen­hower, the fe e lin g th a t , worse is jto come, the expectation o f new ho s tile moves fro m the !■ E isen­hower reg im e aga inst the unions, the illus ion th a t the Dem ocratic

I P a rty is s t i l l the best answer fo r !the w orkers — a ll these are un­doubtedly ty p ic a l aspects o f the Irriood and th in k in g o f the w orkers i n the U n ited States today.

In addition, the rem ark o f the W est V irg in ia m iner, G arland Varies, on the ru in o f the fa rm e r seems to catch ra th e r accurate ly the mood o f a la rge section o f the fa rm in g popu lation. F ra n k E d­wards, A F L rad io com m entator, gave some spot reactions o f a cross section o f A m erican people to E isenhower’s State o f the U n ion message. W h ile he was ra th e r favorab le to the message h im se lf, the com m ents he quoted o f w orkers, sm all businessmen and fa rm ers, were a ll negative. One fa rm woman fro m the 'W est said:

...McCarthy Power Bid(C antinned fro m page 1) 3>

W h ite House would do be tte r next tim e.

W ill i t? Such hopes com plete ly ignore the s tra teg y — and the dilem m a — o f the E isenhower reg im e.

Eisenhower wants a Republican v ic to ry in the 1954 congressional elections. He dis likes M cC arthy, and he fea rs h im . B u t he has decided th a t he needs him . An open and v io le n t r i f t between the W hite House and M cC arthy m ig h t cost the Republicans a defeat, in November. T h a t is w hy the Republican N a tiona l Com m ittee endorsed M cC arthy as an “ asset" and le t h im set the tone fo r the campaign.

On the o ther hand i t is recogniz­ed by the E isenhower-Dewey- B row ne ll w in g o f the GOP th a t i t m ay lose the 1954 elections even w ith M cC arthy, and per­haps even because o f h im . B u t they regard th is r is k as a lesser ev il. A s co lum n ist W a lte r L ipp - mann pointed ou t on Feb. 16, “ T h e ir line is designed as a pro tection aga inst the e xp lo ita ­tio n by M cC arthy o f a po litica l setback in November. I f the election goes b e tte r than they now fea r, they w il l s t i l l he in the saddle though considerably bedraggled in appearance. I f the election goes badly, they hope — though a lm ost ce rta in ly in va in — to make M cC arthy share the blam e and no t to be able to raise he ll a t th e ir expense.”

They are a fra id , L ippm ann ex­plains, no t on ly o f los ing Con­gress to the Democrats “ b u t also o f los ing th e ir own p a rty position and perhaps th e ir p o lit ic a l heads to the extrem e an ti-E isenhow er and an ti-D ew ey w in g o f the p a rty .” As long as tha t is th e ir m ain m otiva tion , they w il l not dare r is k a showdown w ith M c­C a rthy .

M CCARTHY’S A IM SL ippm ann ’s estim ate re in forces

the one th a t the M il ita n t has been m aking fo r some tim e. He assumes (w ro n g ly , we believe) th a t M cC arthy is no t a candidate fo r the presidency, bu t says: “ He is a candidate fo r supreme boss— fo r the d ic ta to rsh ip — o f the Republican p a rty . . . h is uncon­cealed purpose is to break and subdue the P resident and the ex­ecutive branch o f the govern­m ent, the Republican p a r ty in Congress, the national organ iza­tion o f the pa rty . I f any Repub­lican s t i l l th inks th a t M cC arthy ’s p r im a ry ta rg e t is Communism and no t the capture o f the Repub­lican p a rty , he w ill live and learn d iffe re n tly .” (M arch 1.)

In h is assault on Stevens, L ippm ann says, “ M cC arthy ’s qu ite evident purpose was to demon­s tra te his power to in tim id a te the A rm y to show th a t he was so Dowerfu l th a t he could reach over the head o f the Com m ander in C h ie f arid te rro rize ind iv idua l o f ­ficers. . . M cC arthy ’s ob ject is to show th a t even in the A rm y he is a b igg e r man than they (E isen­hower and Stevens), are, and thus to expand his power by m aking h im se lf fea red.”

Step by step, M cC arthy ’s power and his fo llow e rs have been pene tra ting in to one departm ent o f thé governm ent a fte r another— the State Departm ent, the Justice Departm ent, ad m in is tra ­tiv e bodies lik e the Federa l Com­m unications Commission, etc. In th is s tra 'tegy he fo llow s in H it ­le r ’s footsteps, a lthough he is

Smeared by M cC a rth y

Irv ing Peress, Elmhurst, N .Y;, dentist, consults his attorney, Sam Faulkner (r ig h t), while refusing to answer tricky smear questions by Sen. McCarthy a t New York hearing. M cCarthy used issue of Peress’s honorable discharge from A rm y to 'open his bid for control of the Pentagon. •’ 1

more e ffec tive than H it le r was because he is p a rt o f the govern­ment h im self.

“ To understand w h a t M cC arthy is d r iv in g a t in his a ttack on the A rm y ,” the libe ra l co lum n ist M ax Le rne r w ro te on Feb. 24, “ the lite ra tu re on the Nazi m ovem ent in Germ any is required reading. J. W. W heeler-B ennett has traced the whole s to ry in his recent book, a lready an acknowledged masterpiece o f n a rra tive , ‘The Nemesis o f Power,’ sub -titled ‘The German A rm y in P o litics, 1918-1945' (S t. M a rt in ’s Press). Before H it le r could capture power, he had f irs t to penetrate the A rm y and make i t p l ia f it to his purposes. Once the A rm y showed its e lf w i l l in g to p lay po litics on H it le r ’s te rm s its s treng th as a fo rce on the G er­man national scene .was lost. I t became on ly a too l.”

Ten days before th is , Le rne r recognized th a t the M cC arthy ite aim “ is no t to s trengthen the Republicans but to s p lit them, and capture the Republican P a rty . . . (T hey) are not run -o f- the -m ill Republicans nor are they even the old T a f t v a rie ty o f iso la tion is t. They are a new breed, w ith a new brand, who despise E isenhower, Dewey and Dulles a lm ost as much as the y hate T rum an and Stevenson. . . T he ir ta rg e t is noj. 1954 b u t 1956, not the Congressional elections bu t the Republican convention. . .

“ In Germ any and I ta ly the fa s ­cist adventurers form ed th e ir own p a rty and marched to na­tiona l power w ith it . B u t the na ture o f the Am erican p a rty system makes th a t a lm ost im ­possible here. G iven our E lecto ra l College, the on ly w ay to w in the Presidency is th rough one o f the two m a jo r parties. I t would be alm ost hopeless to bu ild a new p a r ty in Am erica on the classic fasc is t pa tte rn . There fore the po litica l goon-squadders have set ou t on th e ir b iggest task thus fa r — th a t o f cap tu rin g the Republican P a rty .”

Le rne r here comes as close as any lib e ra l has to the M il i ta n t ’s analysis o f M cC arthy ism as the Am erican fo rm o f fascism in its in c ip ien t stages. Because o f d if

fe re n t tra d itio n s , d iffe rences in p o lit ic a l s truc tu re , etc., M dG arthy- ism cannot fu n c tio n in precise ly the same w ay as H itle r is m and would not have achieved the suc- ces i t has i f i t had tr ie d to be a sim ple carbon-copy o f the Ger­man fo rm o f fascism . In th a t sense, A m erican fascism w il l never fo llo w “ the classic fasc is t p a tte rn .” • ’

B u t despite the d iffe re n t fo rm s M cC arthy ism assumes and w i i ’ continue to assume, f t is develop­in g more and m ore a long the lines o f the “ classic” pa tte rn . Le rne r h im se lf indicates th is by d ra w ­in g the pa ra lle l between the H it le r ite and M cC a rth y ite pene­tra tio n s o f the m il ita ry . The s tronger M cC arthy ism becomes, the m ore i t w i l l resemble H i t ­le rism .

D IF F E R E N T CO URSE O P E NM cC arthy ’s aim , i t is true , is

to take over the GOP and make i t a fasc is t p a rty . B u t i t would be a bad m istake to th in k th a t th a t is the on ly course open to h im , and th a t he w il l be stopped i f he is thw a rted in th is aim . He is no t a “ ru n -o f-th e -m ill Repub­lican ” ; he is not an o rd in a ry w itch hunter. He owes no rea l allegiance to the Republican P a rty , and i f necessary and t im e ly he w ill break w ith i t and fo rm a new p a rty .

H is th re a t to w a lk out o f the p a rty i f Stevens did no t cap itu la te to him was n o t pure b lu f f (ex­cept, perhaps, in the sense o f when he would take such a step). M cC arthy does no t fo llo w the “ classic” p a tte rn o f H it le r when he tr ie s to take over one o f the old parties, b u t i t would be tho ro ug h ly w ro ng to ru le ou t the p o ss ib ility o f his fo rm in g a new p a rtv in the fu tu re w ith the aid o f the a lready b ig fo llo w in g he has recru ited th rough h is s k il lfu l exp lo ita tion o f leadership in the GOP.

M cC arthy ’s easy v ic to ry over the A rm y illu s tra te s the fasc is t na tu re o f M cC arthy ism and serves w a rn in g th a t i t w i l l g row s t i l l m ore menacing and po w erfu l so long as the la bo r movement continues to re ly on cap ita lis t, po litic ian s to defeat It.

“ I d idn ’t lis ten to the P resident’s speech, I made tha t m istake in :195>2.”

Reports o f ta lk in the shops around New Y ork , on the busses, in ' the streets, run a long the same line. One group o f w h ite co lla r w orkers on a bus tho ugh t E isen­hower m ay be t ry in g to p u ll us ou t o f the g ro w in g economic slum p, b u t the b ig boys around h iir i W ouldn't a llow it . They fe lt the rea l danger was th e Repub­lican P a r ty ra th e r than any in ­d iv idua l.’ A group o f waitresses in B rook­

ly n were ta lk in g recen tly about the Republicans as “ the p a r ty o f depressions.” One o f them was exp la in ing how the Republicans represented t h e “ cap ita lis ts .” '“ You know,” she expla ined, some­what frigh te ne d at the rad ica l sounding te rm , “ the guys w ith a ll the m oney.”

I t is w o rth re ca llin g th a t the f irs t serious signs o f na tiona l depression, and the aggravated d iff ic u lt ie s o f the fa rm ers provok­ed the noticeable sw ing toward the Dem ocratic P a rty la s t year, f ir s t in the W isconsin election upset in October and then in the Nov. 3 elections.

Despite the Republican v ic to ry in C a lifo rn ia (achieved by p u llin g ou t a ll the stops on the w itch hunt, and sm earing the Dem ocrats as “ p ro tecto rs o f spies” ), the trend s ta rted by last Novem ber’s elections can be expected to deepen along w ith deepening depression trends.

In the absence o f an independent po litica l po licy o f the labo r move­m ent, a sweep tow ard the ^ e u ro ­crats m ay w e ll T>e the f irs t m an ifes ta tion o f mass po litica l d iscontent o f the w o rk in g class and t iie fa rm ers .

A s a m a tte r o f fa c t the re are im p o rta n t ind ica tions, aside fro m la s t yea r’s elections, th a t such a sw ing to the Dem ocratic P a rty is in the m aking. S te w a rt A lsop, N. Y . H era ld T ribune colum nist reveals th a t “ the Dem ocratic Congressional Cam paign C om m it­tee, a f te r a ca re fu l analysis of each close d is tr ic t, has in fo rm a lly estim ated th a t the Dem ocrats w ould ga in m ore than fo r ty seats in the House i f the elections were he ld now (Jan. 10).”

A lsop po in ts ou t th a t “ th is estim ate m ig h t be dismissed as mere pa rtisan w ish fu l th in k in g i f i t had been made fo r p u b lic ity proposes. B u t i t was made in ­stead, fo r the p riva te in fo rm a tion o f the com m ittee and the estim ate a lm ost leaned over backward in a llo w in g fo r Dem ocratic losses.”

A lsop reports th a t tw o Demo­c ra tic cam paigners, Sen. Paul Douglas, o f I llin o is , and Sen. H u be rt H um phrey o f M innesota, have recen tly taken fie ld tr ip s and re p o rt a m arked s h ift o f fa rm ers and w orkers in th e ir states away fro m the Republicans and toward the Dem ocrats.

Douglas “ trave lled by car fo r alm ost 13,000 m iles in Illin o is . He made 290 speeches in 150 towns, v is ited 88 counties and ta lked to li te ra lly thousands o f people. As a re su lt o f a ll th is he concluded th a t a ve ry s trong Dem ocratic trend — stronger than he rem em ­bered since he entered po litics — had set in .”

M ost o f Douglas’ experience was w ith fa rm e rs who are ex­trem e ly b it te r over the tu rn o f the economic trend . B u t A lsop re lates th a t “ no t on ly are the fa rm ers discontented. In western I llin o is , h e a rt o f the cou n try ’s fa rm im p lem ent in d u s try , Douglas found near-depression conditions, coupled w ith a s trong sw ing to the Dem ocrats.”

P O S S IB LE RE S U LTSA p o lit ic a l awakening, even in

the d is to rted fo rm o f a sw ing to the ca p ita lis t p a rty ou t o f power, could open up the sluice gates o f a new wave o f rad ica l opposition to cap ita lism . A D em ocratic v ic ­to ry in ’54, and even in ’55 wouldrdt s ig n ify an extended era o f “ New D e a l-F a ir "Deal.” The developing c ris is o f A m erican cap ita lism would qu ick ly dispel illus ions about the a b ility o f the Dem ocratic P a rty to solve the insoluble d ilem m a o f c a p ita lis t depression. A Dem ocratic come­back w ou ld be a sho rt- lived episode fn w h ich favo rab le con­d itio n s fo r the m ob iliza fio ri o f the w orkers in an independent p o lit ic a l fo rm a tio n would develop w ith g re a t speed.

P opu la r revu ls ion against the Republicans in power could ve ry w e ll release the pent-up hatred o f the w itch hun t. The p o lit ic a l atmosphere would undoubtedly change tow ard g re a te r freedom. In e v ita b ly th is would re in fo rce illus ions in the capac ity o f the Dem ocratic P a rty to stop M c­C arthy ism . The fa c t is th a t M c­C a rth y ism as a d is tin c t and developing fasc is t movement, opera ting outside the governm ent apparatus, would become m ore c le a rly demarcated in the event o f a Republican defeat.

A lo n g w ith a con tinu ing eco­nom ic cris is , w h ich the Demo­c ra tic P a rty 'w o u ld he as helpless to solve as the Republican P arty , the fasc is t th re a t to se ttle m atters w ith -labor by d irec t v io le n t assault would • loom ever la rge r. T h e 'w o rke rs w ou ld be confronted w ith the im pera tive need to fo rm th e ir own p a r ty and m eet the c a p ita lis t depression and the fa s ­

c is t th re a t w ith a rad ica l p ro ­gram .

The task o f A m erican socia lists in th is u n fo ld ing p o lit ic a l pa tte rn is to re in fo rce th e ir s trugg le fo r an independent Labor P a rty and fo r the socia lis t p rogram . A ll the m a jo r p o lit ic a l tendencies in the labor m ovem ent are an tic ipa ting , such a tu rn tow ard the Demo­cra ts fro m the s tandpo in t o f how to re in fo rce a ll the illus ions and traps the w orkers could fa l l in to .

The S ta lin is ts , labo r o ffic ia ls , libera ls and social democrats are to blame fo r the present p o lit ic ­a lly disarmed state o f the A m e r­ican w orkers. They w ill repeat th e ir be traya l o f the T h ir t ie s under conditions o f a Dem ocratic P a rty come-back.

I t w il l he up to the re vo lu tion ­a ry socia lists to stand firm by th e ir p rinc ip le o f independent w o rk ing class po litics . Am erican society is heading in to a g reat social cris is . The A m erican w o rk ­ers must not lose the day in such a cris is by rem a in ing p o lit ic a lly helpless and thus opening the road to a mass fasc is t movement.

W A R NO S O LU T IO NThe po litica l perspective sketch­

ed ou t above is not fundam en ta lly a lte red by the p o ss ib ility o f B ig Business p lu n g in g in to another w o rld w a r. W a ll S treet m ay in its desperation stake eve ry th ing on a gamble — an a tte m p t to c lim b cut. o f its d iff ic u lt ie s th rough a g iga n tic m il ita ry adventure.

The f r ig h t fu l consequences o f such a crim e aga inst hum an ity w i l l not a lte r the fa c t th a t the decaying social o rder o f ca p ita l­ism w i l l be subjected to a g re a t re v o lu tio n a ry c ritic ism fro m the Am erican people. W ars have been the breeding ground o f social re vo lu tion m ore than once in h is to ry .

W orke rs ’ illus ions about the Dem ocratic P a r ty are rio t u n ­m ixed w ith a sense o f rea lis tic understanding o f the specific cha racter o f the Roosevelt-T ru- man "p ro s p e rity .” Some w orkers we have ta lked to w i l l read ily agree, even though they are fo r the Democrats, th a t i f the Repub­licans are the p a rty o f depression the Democrats are the p a rty of w ar. And th a t in the la s t analysis both are equally responsible fo r both w ars and depressions.

W ithout th in k in g it ou t theo­re t ica lly . workers and farm ers know th a t the p rospe rity they enjoyed du rin g the last decade o r so was based on w ar and prepara­t io n . fo r wax.

However, in the consciousness o f m illio ns the conclusion is daw n ing th a t the next w a r w ill not resemble W orld W ar I I , in ­so fa r as its e ffects on the domestic s itua tion is concerned. F irs t o f a ll, i t w ill be a w a r wh ich w i l l fo r the firs t tim é mean death and destruction r ig h t here in the U n ited States.

Secondly, the next w a r w i l l not mean high wages, and re la tive secu rity fo r the unions. B ig Business has d iffe re n t plans. Th is tim e they would go to w a r fu l ly re a liz in g th a t i t w il l b r in g such m isery and deg'radation to the popu lation o f the U . S. th a t they w ill have to deal w ith mass rad ica l opposition r ig h t a t home, and not on ly in the rest o f the w orld .

T h a t’s w hy the cap ita lis ts are feve rish ly b u ild in g up the Police State in W ashington. And th a t’s w hy M cC arthy ite fascism has such s tro n g po ten tia l appeal to B ig Business. They understand th a t even a Police State, on the. model th a t E isenhower heads, m ay no t prove su ffic ien t insurance against revo lu tiona ry opposition a t home d u rin g a w ar.

The idea o f a fasc is t settlem ent w ith the Am erican labo r move­ment before the plunge in to W orld W ar I I I is obviously ga in in g ground in the topm ost c ircles o f A m erican cap ita lism . The decision to launch another w a r is inh ib ited by the existence o f a pow erfu l organized w o rk in g class at. home. And yet the process o f the w o rld revo lu tion m ay accelerate th e ir pace. The p lunge may be taken even be fore Am erican cap ita lis ts are com ple te ly sure o f the domestic and in te rna tiona l ou t­come.

B u t the deeper the mass p o li­tica l awakening, the s w ifte r the tu rn tow ard independent class po litics by the Am erican w orkers, the less re a lis tic such a gamble w i l l appear to the m ost pow erfu l c a p ita lis t in te rests. These in ­terests have fa lte re d in th e ir T h ird W orld W a r maneuvers since 1945.

A new rad ica l tu rn in A m erica, w ou ld deepen the pa ra lys is o f w ill in the A m erican ru lin g class. The cap ita lis ts have th e ir tim e-tab les, p lots, calcu la tions and schemes, b u t the dynam ic o f the rea l class s trugg le can do m ore to upset these schemes than the worshipers o f c a p ita lis t power im agine.

In any case the tac tic o f the A m erican socia lists should be to v igo rous ly bu ild the cadres o f the Socia list W orkers P a rty . T h is w ill hasten the p o lit ic a l m ob iliza tion o f the w orkers under a revo lu ­tio n a ry banner. In thus way we w il l no t m ere ly be observing h is ­to ry bu t c o n trib u tin g in the most s ig n ifica n t way to the progressive outcome o f the greatest, c ris is in hum an h is to ry .

A Turn Toward Democrats?

The Negro StruggleB y Jean Blake

How Brotherhood Week Should Not Be ObservedWe’ve seen many a farce acted out in the

name of “ Brotherhood Week." We’Ve seen many a sanctimonious hypocrite make speeches about loving our neighbors as ourselves at public halls by "do-gooders’’ — who then go out and whoop it up for atom-bombing our colonial brothers o ff the face o f the earth.

We’ve heard pious speeches about “ im ­proving Human Relations" in churches and public halls by “ do-gooders” — who then go home to their race-restricted neighborhoods, relieved that their obligations as their “ brother’s keeper” are over for a year.

But the Brotherhood Week observance to top them all was the one held in Cleveland, Ohio last week. Roy Cohn, Senator McCarthy's chief counsel and investigator, was invited to participate in the ninth annual “ Fellowship N ight” o f the Temple Men’s Club. He was one of a panel heard by more than one thousand Brotherhood Night celebrants, on the subject "Human Relationships Involved in Religion, Education and Government.”

This is the same Roy Cohn who achieved ■notoriety over a year ago when he and his side-kick went on their little European junket for McCarthy, trying to dig up some d irt on fellow Americans abroad that the witch-hunting Senator might be able to use in his smear cam­paign.

In the Brotherhood Night discussion, Colin svas an outstanding example of the double- talking demagogue:

He agreed w ith oilier speakers on the

me MILITANTVOLUME x v m M O N D A Y , M A R C H 8, 1954 N U M B E R 10

necessity o f preserving civ il rights and not smearing liberal and progressive people — but said there was an equal duty to protect innocent people against Communist conspirators by joint effort, by FBI, Department of Justice, Congress committees, grand juries ami tria l juries.

He agreed that religious faith and education would battle communism — but added that they are not enough because Communists w ill not fight on those grounds.

lie said he believes in the right of the people to plead the F ifth Amendment in refusing to answer questions, and he would not repeal it — but not people in government or education. (1 Ie did not explain that the McCarthyite label "F ifth Amendment Communists” applies to all who exercise that right.)

Finally, in a spirit of magnanimous — Brotherhood? — he proposed forgiving all repentant American Communists "who tell what’s behind the Iron Curtain.”

A worse distortion of the concept of brother- . hood would be hard to imagine. It used to mean

respect for our brothers, not betrayal, inform­ing and stool-pigeoning. It used to mean solidarity in the face of attack by tyrants and dictators. It used to mean breaking down the barriers that separate man from man in our society. But not in the McCarthyite concept When called before that fascist inquisitor your only fight is to testify against your brother and yourself.

Let’s end this farce of “ Brotherhood Week when it degenerates that far.

The Mink Coat SlanderB y Joyce Cowley

A short time ago I saw an interesting letter in the Dear lid ito r column of the New York- Rost:

“ I sat in the subway deep in thought, wondering if my husband got his unemploy­ment check, i hope he had enough money for m ilk for the baby. 1 still have chopped meat, a few potatoes and spaghetti in the house for the weekend. I've forgotten what it feels like to have enough in the house to eat. . . The season is supposed to start soon, maybe he'll be called back. Maybe he got his check. Now 1 go back to work, my husband and daughter take care o f the baby. . .

“ Then I picked up the paper and read where a clergyman preached that ‘selfish working mothers’ who neglected their children are the cause of juvenile delinquency. Mothers who work, he told a Senate Committee, are barter­ing- their children’s welfare for a ’ fleeting bit of mink coat’. ”

Currently more than 5-1/4 m illion mothers, one out of every four with children under eighteen, work outside the home. But before mink manufacturers increase their production schedules. I suggest they look through a pam­phlet “ Planning Services for Children of Em­ployed Mothers” recently published by the Dept, of Labor. It gives a somewhat different picture of the reason that mothers work. A study of families using day-care centers in New York C ity shows that 42% of the mothers arc the sole support of their families. In the remaining 58%, both mother and father work, but almost half o f the fathers make less than 840 a week and 80% make less than 850.

There is only a small percentage of working mothers in this particular study (which I be­lieve is representative of employed mothers throughout the country) whose husbands make more than a subsistence wage. However, even though this group is relatively small, they've got their rights, too. I think i t ’s time that I spoke out for them.

Say your husband makes S10Ü a week. Does this automatically mean that you have no right to work, that your children are neglected and you're responsible for the rise in juvenile delinquency and the high divorce rate? This is the opinion of a great many politicians, clergy­men and various other "authorities” who seem conspicuously ignorant of what constitutes a good relationship between a mother and her child.

The enterprising woman who wants to help her husband buy a car or a home, the woman who doesn’t care much for housework and seeks out a more congenial and interesting occupa­tion, is blamed for a great variety of social evils.

Psychologists and psychiatrists who have really studied this question point out that it is the quality of a mother's relationship w ith her children, not the actual number of hours she spends with them, that makes all the difference. I f a child is convinced that his mothers cares for him, he w ill not be upset when she goes o ff to work any more than he is upset when father goes o ff to work.

The m ajority of women with jobs have no choice. They’ve got to work — for groceries. But i t ’s about time we recognizes that every woman has the right to work. Her reasons may vary — maybe she has an interesting job, maybe she want's to save money so she and the fam ily can take a trip to (Europe, maybe she wants to put her youngsters through college. It's even possible, though not very likely, that she wants to buy a mink coat. In that case she is certainly using moré legitimate means to get it than those traditionally employed by women who acquire mink coats.

'Whether i t ’s mink or m ilk she’s after, 1 protest against this habit of blaming America’s twenty m illion working women for social disorders caused by the wars and depressions o f a degenerating capitalist society.

L A . Church DefiesLoyalty Oath

LOS A N G E LE S . Feb. 22 — T ak ing a resolute stand o f op­position to the demands o f the w itch -hunters, the members o f the F irs t U n ita ria n Church in th is c ity voted last n ig h t to in s tru c t ;h e ir Board o f Trustees not to sign a lo ya lty oath th a t would q u a lify the church fo r p ro p e rty -ta x ex­emptions.

The C a lifo rn ia law prov id ing tax exem ption fo r churches and o ther n o n -p ro f it organ izations was amended last year to provide th a t any o rgan iza tion seeking such exem ption m ust take the fo llo w in g oath: “ T h is organ iza­tion does no t advocate the over­th ro w o f the G overnm ent o f the U n ited States o r the State o f C a lifo rn ia by force o r violence o r o ther un la w fu l means no r ad­vocate the support o f a fo re ign governm ent aga inst the U n ited States in the event o f hos tilitie s? ’

The m embership o f the church, which now enjoys a §6,000 annual tax exem ption, voted by secret ba llo t, a f te r extended discussion o f the issue, 206 to 31 against s ig n in g the ta x oath. The action o f the church membership was in itia te d by the Board ; o f Trustees.

In a s ta tem ent issued to its members p r io r to the meeting, the Board o f Trustees said in p a r t: “ U s ing G erm any’s trag ic N azi h is to ry , th a t when and i f we sign one oath o f the most innocent s o rt the re w ill be no room fo r re tre a t i f fu r th e r and more com prom ising oaths are th e re a fte r required. M any re fu ­gees fro m G erm any have pointed out the s im ila r ity to our present s itu a tio n o f the innocent-seeming beginnings o f the Nazi develop­ment.

Defying fascist Senator Mc­Carthy at Senate subcommittee hearing in Albany, N .Y ., Gen­eral Electric worker A rthu r L. Owens, below, charged: “ThisK K K committee is out to get me fired.” Owens called Jean Arse­nault (inset, rig h t) a “damn­able lia r” for claiming Owens and five other GE workers were “Communists.”

Seattle Unions Hear Roberts in School Bd. Race

SEATTLE, Feb. 28 — The campaign of Daniel Roberts, Socialist Workers candidate for the Seattle school board, entered its final week today. He has spokenat 18 un ion meetings to date and 51-

CO NG RESSM EN A T W O R K . The fo llo w in g are excerpts fro m a speech delivered on the flo o r o f the House o f Representatives b y Cong. C ar­nahan (D . M o .): 'T a r n today o ffe r in g a so lu tion to the coffee problem . . . In th is e x tre m ity 1 o ffe r a suggestion w h ich I believe has m e rit: D r in k sassafras tea. H a v ing been reared in the M issouri Ozarks. . , I have d runk l i te ra lly ga llons o f sassafras tea . . - and such a d e lig h tfu l pickup i t is. . • I m ig h t m ention th a t a concentrate o f sassafras tea is said to have ce rta in medicinal qua lities . . . i t is said and f irm ly believed in my section o f the h ills th a t sassafras tea is a ‘sure cure fo r the itc h ’. . . F o r ju m p y nerves, sleepless n igh ts , financia l s tra in , and tire d blood, w hy not sw itch to sassafras? E n jo y the ‘sw itch th a t satisfies? ”

* * *

A N T I-J E W IS H A N D A N T I-N E G R O lite ra tu re was c ircu la ted th rough the m ails to the residents o f the Quad C ity area o f Rock Is land, M oline, E ast M oline and D avenport, Iow a, w h ile a n t i: Jow ish s tickers were be ing pasted on store fro n ts . Stamped m ark in g on the outside o f the envelopes read, “ A n ti-Je w ish week, Feb. 21 to 28.” The envelopes were postm arked fro m Rock Is land w h ile the ra c is t lite ra tu re inside re fe rre d to a S t. Louis, M o., “ C itizens P ro tective Assn.” The Rock Is land po lice ch ie f says he is convinced th a t the group there is connected w ith the St. Lo ius organ iza tion .

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NO P E R JU R Y A C T IO N A G A IN S T D E T R O IT STO O L-P IG E O N . A Federal Grand J u ry has refused to take any action against. M ilto n Sant- w ire , a stool pigeon accused o f ly in g in the recent Sm ith A c t t r ia l o f Com m unist P a rty members in D e tro it. The w itness, a p lan t in the Communis*- p a rty , f irs t said under oath th a t he was paid on ly b y the F B I fo r h is d ir ty w o rk . Recalled to the stand, he adm itted under defense questioning, th a t he had also been rece iv ing a $75-a-month pa y o f f since 1948 fro m the F o rd M o to r Com­pany.

NEG RO R E FU S E S F E D E R A L A P P O IN T ­M E N T . Paul P h illip s , executive secre tary o f the G rand Rapids U rban League, tu rn in g do\yn an o ffe r to become a special ass is tant in the Dept, o f H ealth , Education and W elfare , w ro te to de­p a rtm e n t head Oveta Hobby, “ I t w ould be u n fa ir and unwise to ask m y fa m ily , especially m y seven- year-o ld son, to live in- and a ttem p t to ad ju s t to the r ig id pa tte rn o f rac ia l segregation th a t exists in W ashington. Being adu lts , m y w ife and I could t r y to make some a tte m p t a t understand ing and so lv ing the problem . B u t how does one exp la in rac ia l segregation to a c h ild ? ’’

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, PERESS F A M IL Y S U B JE C TE D TO A T ­T A C K S . Rocks have been hurled though the w indows o f the New Y o rk home o f D r. I rv in g Peress, whose honorable discharge fro m the A rm y b rough t down the w ra th o f M cC arthy. Peress said he had also received 30 unsigned, abusive, and v io le n tly an ti-S em itic le tte rs since the case h it the headlines. V ig ila n te elements la s t week jam m ed a Queens pub lic school in an e f fo r t to stampede the res igna tion o f M rs. Peress from the ed ito rsh ip o f a local P. T. A . magazine. The school p rinc ip a l was forced to ad journ the meet­ing when the mob set o f f a 15-m inute dem onstra­tion o f scream ing, c lapp ing and stom ping o f fee t a fte r a local Legionna ire "bellowed th a t “ no pe r­son should be allowed to hold office in a parents group whose opinions are c o n tra ry to the A m e r­ican way o f l i fe . ” The break-up o f the m eeting le f t M rs. Peress in her post o f ed itor.

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D E T R O IT U N E M P L O Y M E N T SPURS A R M Y R E C R U IT M E N T . M oun ting unem ploym ent in the D e tro it area is p ro v in g a definite, aid in re c ru it­m ent, A rm ed Forces representatives in th a t area say. A rm y en listm ents were up 12% in January over December, w h ile A ir Force en listm ents w ent up 26% in the same period. The Coast Guard office there d iscontinued en listm ents Jan. 1. “ B u t we’ve had q u ite a few ca lls fro m p rio r-se rv ice men w a n tin g back in because o f the job s itua ­tio n ,” a spokesman said.

“ A no ther (a rgum en t) suggests

th a t th is s ignals the state d ic ta t­in g to the churches w h a t they m ay o r m ay no t believe or profess. I f now the r ig h t o f the state to so use the th re a t o f its ta x in g power is g ranted on a nom ina lly p o lit ic a l (though also ph ilosophical and u ltim a te ly theo log ica l) issue, w i l l no t the freedom o f the church have been seriously com prom ised?”

The January issue of the A m er­ican Civil Liberties Union-News, published by the Northern Cali­fornia Branch, announced that the union, which is tax-exempt, would also refuse to sign the oath and would file suit in the Superior Court, before March 15, the filing deadline for such oaths, chal­lenging the constitutionality of the law.

. . . Anti-Trucks Law Victory(Continued from page 1)

and was subject to its d rastic penalties. He im m edia te ly ordered th a t the SW P be barred fro m the ba llo t even though i t had jt is t filed- the necessary pe titions , to q u a lify . (Thanks to cou rt action taken by the SW P, however, i t appeared on the b a llo t th a t year.)

Now , a lm ost tw o years la te r, M illa rd is forced to adm it in open cou rt tha t he s t i l l lacks “ s u f­ficient. p ro o f” o f his own o rig in a l charges! Is j t possible fo r a gov­ernm ent o ff ic ia l to conv ic t h im ­se lf o f a rb itra ry and biased con­duct more tho rough ly than M il­la rd has done in th is case?

M il la rd ’s s ta te m e n t. is a blow not on ly aga inst his own conduct under the T rucks Law b u t also aga inst the “ subversive” lis t prepared by the U . S. A tto rne y Generals since 1947. H is ch ie f “ evidence” aga inst the SW P in 1952 was th a t its name appeared on the federa l “ subversive” black­lis t, on w h ich i t was placed w ith ­ou t a hearing , w ithout, charges and w ith o u t an op p o rtu n ity to defend itse lf.

M illa rd now confesses, in e ffect, th a t the federa l b la ck lis t provides him w ith no p ro o f w hatever as to the na ture o f the SW!P. , A t any ra te he deems i t unwise anc unsafe to stake any case against the SW P under the T rucks Law on the f lim s y hearsay character o f the W ashington “ subversive” lis t. Com ing from a w itch hunter, th is is no t exacty a com plim ent to th a t lis t.

SECOND S T IP U L A T IO NA second s tipu la tion by M illa rd

gave even more evidence o f his re trea t. D iscussing the, section o f the T rucks Law w h ich pe rm its the b a rrin g o f parties from the ba llo t, he said:

“ The A tto rn e y General o f th is S tate is o f the opin ion th a t the express provis ions o f section 7 . . . do no t app ly to the p la in ­t i f f S ocia lis t W orkers P a r ty o f M ich igan as such, o r to any o f its nominees, no r do such provis ions app ly to the in d iv idu a l p la in t if fs herein as members o f the So­c ia lis t W orkers P a rty o f M ich­igan, and the defendants herein (M illa rd and the o ther state o f­fic ia ls ) d iscla im any in ten tion ’-' to enforce the provis ions o f section 7 o f the act aga inst said So­cialist. W orkers P a r ty o r its in ­d iv idua l members.”

S tatem ents o f th is k ind , dis­c la im ing any in te n tio n to again bar the SW P from the ba llo t, are no t guarantees, o f course. Capi­ta lis t p o litic ian s ra re ly hesitate to break promises. B u t M il la rd ’s s ta tem ent would c e rta in ly prove em barrassing to h im in co u rt i f he should a ttem p t to e ffec t an­other ba llo t ban aga inst the SW P, and to th a t ex tent repre­sent a ga in in the S W F ’s fig h t fo r free elections.

O n the whole, the re fore , the SW P su it, ■ a lthough i t has been dismissed, m ust be summed up as a successful p a rt o f the S W P ’s defense o f its le g itim a te r ig h t to continue fu n c tio n in g as a p o li­

tica l p a rty , in c lud in g the fun c ­tion o f ru n n in g fo r o ffice and t ry in g to educate the people .to accept a soc ia lis t program .

Once M illa rd had backed down, the con tinuation o f the s u it be­came le ga lly untenable, and the a tto rneys fo r the SW P, Bernard Probe and Jesse R. Baealis, con­sented to “ the d ism issal o rder “ w ith o u t pre jud ice .” Thus the desired ru lin g on the cons titu ­tio n a lity o f the T rucks Law w ill not be made around the SW F su it (w h ich M illa rd has been anxious to avoid a ll a long).

CP CASEF ortuna te ly , however, there is

another suit tes ting the la w ’s con­s t itu t io n a lity which is now before the co ilrts — a s u it Jfilcd by the Communist P a rty . T h is test ac­tion deserves the support o f every opponent o f the T rucks Law, and the Socia lis t W orkers P a rty is now u rg in g un ited labor and libe ra l action behind th is su it as the best means o f ob ta in ing a con s titu tion a l ru lin g aga inst the law .

The T rucks Law is undoubtedly one o f the w o rs t laws ever enact­ed by any state in th is country. The Republican State Leg is la tu re passed i t tw o years ago a fte r a ve ritab le o rg y o f w itch hu n tin g and re d b a itin g hys te ria was set o f f by the House U nA m erican A c tiv it ie s C om m ittee on a v is it to D e tro it. F a ir Dealer Governor W illiam s lacked the courage to even veto the measure.

The hyste ria go t worse when the b i l l became law . Headlines shrieked w ith prom ises by state o ffic ia ls to round up hundreds o f “ suspects” who refused to reg is ­te r themselves w ith the state police as alleged “ subversives” w ith in five days. The SW P was barred from the ba llo t. The s p ir it o f in tim id a tio n was so in ­tense that, the SW P had a hard tim e find ing a la w ye r w ill in g to represent i t in court.

C IT IZ E N S ’ C O M M IT T E EC o urt actio.fi held up the en­

forcem ent o f the law . Then s lo w ly bu t su re ly the forces of resistance began to make t-hem-

NEW YORK Friday Night

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selves fe lt . More than 200 labor, libe ra l, re lig ious, educational and c iv ic leaders form ed the non­partisan C itizens’ C o m m i t t e e A g a in s t the T rucks Law . The com m ittee carried on a v igorous educational cam paign against the measure, c a llin g fo r action to assure a fu l l legal test o f a ll its aspects, and supported the SW P cou rt action.

The labor movement responded favo rab ly . Both the M ich igan CIO and the M ich igan Federation o f Labor (A F L ) passed resolutions denouncing the law as undemo­c ra tic and unconstitu tiona l. Local onions and o ther organ izations did the same. The momentum o f the w itch hun t was slowed down.

The effectiveness o f the res is t­ance was dem onstrated by the way M illa rd had to back down last F rida y . Continued resistance, focusing th is tim e around the Com m unist P a rty ’s su it, can deal a death b low to the T rucks Law as a whole.

A no the r revea ling side o f the Trucks f ig h t has been the role o f the d a ily press here. W hen the law was passed in 1952, b ig black f ro n t page headlines b lared the news about M il la rd ’s ly in g charges and actions aga inst the SWP. N o th in g com parable was p rin ted when M illa rd was in e ffec t forced to re tra c t these charges.

The D e tro it Free Press (Feb. 21) ca rried a sm all item , on Page 2, under the t it le “ S ocia lis t W o rk ­ers W in O K,” rep o rtin g tha t the “ subversive and com m unist” tag p u t on the SWP in 1952 “ has been removed in C irc u it C o u rt,” and n o ting the s tipu la tions en te r­ed by M illa rd . A no ther item on Frige 7 o f the D e tro it News o f the same date d idn ’t even men­tion M illa rd ’s s ta tem ent th a t he had no in ten tion o f t r y in g to bar the SW P fro m the ba llo t. O ther papers p rin ted less o r no th ing.

The M oC arthyites ge t the head­lines, the an ti-M cC a rth y i tes are lucky to ge t a n y th in g — th a t’s “ objective re p o rtin g ,” ca p ita lis t style.

Twin Cities Public Meeting

McCARTHYISM— The American Brand

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Ausp ices: M inn . Socia list W orkers P a rty

several candidates’ fo rum s. A busy w ind-up week o f speaking is in s igh t.

A sta tem ent by Roberts’ was published in a ll the neighborhood papers as p a r t o f the p rogram o f the League o f W omen V oters to in fo rm the Seattle voters o f the stand o f a ll the candidates. R obert also apeared today on a League o f W omen V ote rs ’ spon­sored T V fo rum .

Three thousand fo lde rs con ta in ­in g Roberts’ p rog ram are being d is tribu te d by SW P supporters a t union m eetings and in the m ain w orkers neighborhood. A lea fle t, condemning Seattle school te x t­books fo r teaching a n ti - Negro pre judice was d is tribu te d today a t various N egro churches in town. In th is le a fle t, Roberts pledges h im sef to cam paign fo r tex ts th a t “ teach the tru th .”

The candidate also spoke today a t a house m eeting called by a new reader o f the M il ita n t fo r her frien ds and o ther readers in the neighborhood.

The ou ts tand ing w o rk in o r­gan iz ing the cam paign and keep­in g a ll phases o f i t ro l l in g ' is being done by Helen Baker, Seattle branch SW P lite ra tu re agent and co n trib u to r to the M ilita n t.

Last F r id a y n igh t, Roberts ad­dressed a la rge m eeting o f Local No. 33 o f the Cooks and A ssis tan ts A F L on ju ven ile delinquency.

S coring P resident E isenhower fo r b lam ing the parents fo r the enormous g ro w th o f th is problem , Roberts said, “ P resident E isen­hower slanders the parents when he accuses them o f neglecting the care o f th e ir children.

“ In re a lity , the parents are to be adm ired fo r the way^they have

in v a ria b ly ra llie d to the defense o f the young people when they are caught in the to ils o f b ru ta l police and hang ing judges.

“ I t is E isenhower and a ll the o ther po litic ians o f B ig Business— Dem ocratic and Republican a like — who are responsible fo r ju ven ile delinquency. A l l the y o ffe r the you th o f th is cou n try is the a lte rn a tive o f w a r o r depression.”

The young people re je c t these a lte rna tives , Roberts po in ted out, bu t don ’t know where to tu rn fo r a solution.

“ In despair, they tu rn down the b lind a lley o f juven ile delinquency— a b lind , reckless and se lf- destructive course.”

A tta c k in g the no tion th a t the w o rk in g m others are especially to blame fo r ju ven ile delinquency, Roberts declared, “ The reac­tio n a ry demand th a t the woman should s tay in the home would on ly heap in ju ry on the woman on top o f the in ju ry a lready done to the young people and w ouldn ’t solve the problem o f ju ven ile delinquency.

“ The m illions o f women who w o rk do so because o f economic need, bu t over and above the economic reason there are m any women who w ant to w o rk . They find they thereby acquire inde­pendent s tand ing in society and a toehold on a sta tus o f eq ua lity w ith men. In m ost cases they be­come be tte r m others and happ ier w ives because o f w o rk ing .

"T he re is on ly one th in g w rong w ith women w o rk in g and th a t is th a t they don’t ge t pa id enough. The so lu tion fo r th a t aspect o f the problem is not to d rive the women back to the home, b u t fo r the unions to f ig h t to obta in equal pay fo r women.”

SPERRY STRIKE ANSWERSM cCa r t h y it e f o r m u l a

By Art SharonNEW YORK, March 2 — When a large corporation

during the very midst of contract negotiation provoca­tively fires members of the union as “ security risks” thatis the M cC a rth y ite fo rm u la . £>------------------------------------------------------ -

to the provocation. W hen th a t body fa iled to respond, the com­pany fo llow ed up w ith m any more v ic tim s.

This economic pu n itive measure s truck the w o rkers in the shop as being so b ru ta lly callous and de libe ra te ly provocative th a t the union m achinery was set in to m otion to ca ll the com pany to order.

The com pany’s h igh - priced law yers rushed in to the state supreme cou rt to secure an in ­ju nc tio n aga inst the IU E using :ts con trac t to p ro tec t the v ic ­tim s.

W h ile the un ion ’s action on the fir in g s is som eth ing sho rt o f a f ig h tin g stance, i t is in m arked con tras t to the action taken by the GE local o f the IU E a t Lynn, Mass., which supplemented GE’s v ic tim iz a tio n by exp e llin g the v ic tim s fro m the un ion in a rum p session o f the local th a t denied them the m ost e lem entary demo­c ra tic r ig h ts .

The action by the S perry local o f IU E came a t the same tim e as tjie s ig n ifica n t a n ti - M cC a rth y ite action taken by the C IO Council o f G reater New Y o rk (see page 1.)

There is a heightened awareness in the labo r m ovem ent o f the menace o f Md.Carthyism, and these two actions in the New Y ork area are signs o f a s t i f ­fen ing resistance to the m enacing an ti-un ion storm now m aking up in W ashington and W a ll S treet.

C a re fu lly t im in g and spacing a series o f some tw en ty fir in g s d u rin g the past m onth, the S perry Gyroscopic Gorp. o f Lake Suc­cess, Long Is land, has tr ied out th is new, po ten t a n ti - union weapon.

-On the very eve o f nego tia tion breakdown and s tr ik e the Cor­pora tion capped o f f its cam paign o f in tim id a tio n and dem ora liza­tion by w a rn in g the p la n t’s 18,000 w orkers th a t i f they observed the p icke t lines they would face pu n itive measures.

The cam paign and w a rn in g did the corpora tion l i t t le good. A f te r much hes ita tion and some con­fusion, the union th re w the p ro tection o f its con trac t enforce­m ent m ach inery around its fired members, and the 18,000 em­ployees, m ostly members o f the CIO In te m a tio n a l U n ion o f E lec­tr ic a l W orkers, scrupulously ob­served the p icke t lines p u t up by the Engineers Association w h ich is conducting the s trike .

Am ong those fired are many active union m ilita n ts and fo rm e r leaders o f the OIOv In te rn a tio n a l U n ion o f E le c trica l W orkers w ith m any years sen io rity behind them. O thers were one-tim e members of the independent UE.

The f irs t fir in g s were no t challenged by the union. The com­pany even w a ited u n til the meet­ing o f the p la n t’s S teward Coun­c il to see w h a t reaction would be

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