Peace, It's Wonderful

U.S. Communists finally got their party line straightened out. After first hailing MacArthur's firing as "good riddance" of an "arrogant militarist," they discovered that Moscow wanted them to concentrate more on smearing Harry Truman for keeping the Korean war going. Secretary General Eugene Dennis, now out on $30,000 appeal bail as one of the eleven convicted Communist conspirators, issued a cliche-packed manifesto to set the comrades right.

"We are only at the beginning of the big political struggles unleashed by the MacArthur affair," wrote he. "We have been slow in getting off the ground . . . There has been all too much hesitation about plunging into discussions with various sections of the people . . . and too little skill has been displayed in finding the approach to points of agreement around which joint action, however limited, can be organized." In plainer English (but still based on the translation from the Russian), Dennis was telling the boys to soft-pedal all other party activities and get behind the phony peace campaign, to step up their infiltration of factories, labor unions, church, civic and neighborhood groups.

In case the comrades had forgotten, Party Boss Dennis thoughtfully listed a few made-in-Moscow slogans for getting the discussions started: End the war in Korea! Hands off China! Start peaceful negotiations! Let People's China take her rightful place in the U.N.! Ban the Abomb! For a pact of peace among the five great powers!

The party's hesitation and lack of skill is not its only trouble. Its membership in the past year has fallen from 54,174 to 43,217, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover reported to Congress. But Hoover still fears that the Communist menace is stronger and more dangerous than the Nazi fifth column in the U.S. during World War II. For every card-carrying Commie, Hoover guessed, there are ten fellow travelers who would help the party when called. About 14,000 of the most active Reds have been bird-banded and marked down for quick arrest in the event of a national emergency.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.