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Show . ; It Isn't a Laughing Matter NEWS of the arrest of 17 members of an organization or-ganization called the "Christian Front," the seizure of a small quantity ot arms, bombs, etc., and the revelation of the organization's alleged, ambitious plan to overthrow the United States government by armed revolt, no doubt came as quite a surprise to the American people. Few of them had ever heard of an organization organ-ization called the Christian Front And to Imagine a small group of fanatics planning the overthrow of the American government by force well. It's laughable. Butla.it laughable? The people ot Germany laughed too at funny fellow with a Charlie Chaplin mustache who organized a militant new party In 1919, with the ambitious program of overthrowing the German republic and establishing a fighting fight-ing dictatorship which he promised would cure all of post-war Germany's Ills. They laughed because there were Just seven men who started the new party, and not more than a few thousand thou-sand adherents when It started the "national socialist revolution" in a Munich beer cellar a few years later. They still laughed the next day when a few shots from army troops broke up the "march on Berlin," scattered the party's followers to the four winds and landed the leaders In prison. Maybe If the German people hadn't laughed so much 19 and 20 years ago, they might have saved themselves from a great deal of sorrow and suffering, the odium of the world, and the privation and stress of another war. Probably it Is not entirely correct to point i. parallel between the rise of Hitler and hit nazis and the revolutionary plotting of the Christian Front organization. It may well be that the Christian Front movement Is not very dangerous. danger-ous. Just as many an embryonic revolution In Germany at the time of the Inception of the nazls proved abortive no serious threat to the German republic. ' But although many fascist-type movements In Germany failed, one lived and finally succeeded suc-ceeded In seizing complete power. . It is not the Christian Front that Is dangerous danger-ous in America. It Is what the Christian Front represents the militant fascist urge. Alone the Christian Front revolutionary plotting constitutes con-stitutes a small threat to our American democracy. democ-racy. But merged with all the other revolutionary revolu-tionary forces in America, aided by the malcontents, mal-contents, their ranks swelled by pomp-loving Joiners, by blood-loving lynchers, by torture-loving torture-loving haters then it might be something to reckon with. Arrest of the 1? would-be revolutionists of the Christian Front isn't a laughing matter, because the very fact that good American citizens, citi-zens, many of them members ot the national guard and military reserve forces, could believe , that America needs fascism la serious. ' Somewhere along the line, those 17 and as many others as were Involved In the plot had lost the' essence of their Americanism the fundamental belief in the principles and efficient effi-cient functioning of democracy aa the most progressive and satisfactory form ot government govern-ment for mankind. And that loss is America's loss and America's danger. It we can stop that loss ot faith. In democratic demo-cratic America, we won't need to worry about the Christian Front or any combination of fronts. If we can't stop It, all the arrests and investigations and purges we make can't save us. |