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Show I (?LOOKING I lWm ajiead tf " GEORGE & BENSON Sip PrisidmlMttrdiiif Ccllcc I Seirtf. JrtiMttt THE COMMUNIST SMEAR A natural inclination of the American people towards the .peaceful and quiet life has been one of the chief reasons why Communists have been able to gain such a strategically im- j portant foothold in - various j quarters in our country. Who 1 wants to start a fight? Who wants to get involved in a noisy, unpleasant controversy? Very few Americans do. You cannot fight Communism anywhere, and especially not here in America Amer-ica where the stakes are so high. shut, publicly, which is precisely pre-cisely the Communists' design. A friend has sent me a little book on Communist tactics in labor unions which has the ring of authenticity. It was written by Karl Baarslag, an A. F. of L. member since 1920. Unlike many current authors in this particular field, Baarslag was never a Communist. He was one of the founders, in 1931, of a sea-going radio operators union. Within a few years it had 1500 members and was rigidly controlled by a handful of Communists. "There were less than 60 identifiable Communists and ipossibly 150 to 200 fellow travelers and dupes," Baarslag writes. "Among the loyal members, the puzzling question arose, 'How can so few dominate and outwit so many," There are many answers. This union labor man who is warn- without becoming the smear target tar-get of the Communists' entire propaganda apparatus. And almost invariably when I an aggressive anti-Communist sticks his neck out, the noisy Communist barrage against him is powerfully assisted by carefully care-fully cultivated dupes often well-meaning and unquestionably unquestion-ably loyal Americans. Many intellectuals in-tellectuals in highly influential positions, who could not possibly pos-sibly be sold the full Marxian line, have fallen for and are constantly using some of the Communisms' best tools. Labels such as "Red-baiter" and "Witch Communists are made the victims vic-tims of a well organized but cleverly disguised campaign of villification and slander . . . The average American, believing believ-ing in 'live and let live' and eager to be known as a "good fellow without an enemy in the world,' is particularly vulnerable vulner-able to the threat of the smear. The list of labor and liberal figures fig-ures who have been dissuaded from making anti-Communist statements or engaging in activities ac-tivities inimical to the Communist Com-munist Party by the simple threat of a good smearing is. lamentably la-mentably long." In recent months I've met and talked with two of America's Amer-ica's foremost authorities on Communism in America. One is a former high-placed FBI agent. They told me that when Communists get control of a union they try sometimes successfully suc-cessfully to close the door of employment to aggressive anti-Communists. anti-Communists. They told .me of specific cases. It all adds up to-the to-the ' fact you can't fight Communism Com-munism today and have peace and quiet. But even so, the American forces arrayed against the conspiracy are growing in I voice and strength and are determined de-termined to win even if it requires re-quires some martyrs. ing America against Communists Commun-ists and their dupes, fills his book with answers. Here's one: "Communists have a very low opinion of the courage of union members in the mass because they know through long experience exper-ience that the average American Amer-ican worker dislikes controversy contro-versy and 'trouble' and will stay away from union meetings that are constantly rent by bitter dissension. "Lacking a macine, a gang, or clique to back him up and defend him, the average peace-loving peace-loving and quiet union member decides that silence and discretion discre-tion are the better part of valor. That means that about 90 per cent of the membership of most unions either stay away from meetings or take no active part in those they do attend." Thus do the conspirators, whose constant con-stant goal is the destruction of j our nation, gain control of our nation, gain control of highly high-ly strategic unions in which they have only a small number :of members. Their Threat Silences The A. F. of L. veteran says further: "All outstanding anti- hunter," anti-labor," "anti-Negro," "anti-Jew," are Communist Commun-ist tools. They are the best tools Communists in America have devised to take the heat off themselves. Insidious Tactics The label "Red-baiter" has' about worn out its effectiveness. But "Witch-hunter," "anti-labor," "anti-Jew," "anti-Negro," all have an ugly connotation. Few Americans want to be lambasted lam-basted thus and with the other accompanying vituperation. So must people keep their mouths |