The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-18
Fellowship Splits;
Gusts Matthews
Continued from Page y

Council Of Roger Baldwin, Director
of the American Civil Liberties
Union, Walter Ludwig, Director Of
Pioneer Youth, Francis Henson, sec
rotary of the American League
Against War and Fascism, Tucker P.
Smith, director of Brookwood Labor
College, Dorothy Deter, secretary Of
the Womens International League
for Peace and Freedom, and others.
The tenure of two other secretaries,
Charles C. Weber in charge Of in
dustrial projects and Howard Hester,
who represents the Fellowship in the
South, was left in q state of uncer-
tainty at the end of the Council ses-
sion. The body demanded that they
give adequate pledge of repudkating
Matthews position as condition OF
their unemployment. So far as is
known, neither Weber nor Kester
has yet answered the Council on this
proposition. It is expected that both
will refuse the condition imposed
upon their acceptance.
The session of the Council had
been announced as q decisive one
to reach important decisions oStensi-
bly, based upon nationwide refer
endum of the members of the or
ganization. Replies were received
from 966 of the eight thousand men,
bers to whom the referendum was
mailed. The Council, which is not
a democratically chosen body, but
which this year was elected by GO
out of ten thousand members-these
So being the only ones who attended
the recent annual conference at
Swarthmore, Pa.-ignored the rank
and file opinions of the members who
voted In the referendum. According
to the referendum returns 60 per cent
of the membership voted against the
viewpoint of John Nevin Sayre, but
despite this fact he was reelected by
the Council.
After the stormy session of the
"pacif1sts," j. B. Matthews issued the
following statement:
There is one important feature
of the Fellowship referendum which
the Council ignored. The votes re-
veal an almost perfect correlation
between financial income and COM.
plete paciffst aloofness from the
class struggle. If the idealistic
members of the Fellowship who
belong to the owning class were
not so blinded by their vested in
terests as property owners, they
would be startled to find how per-
fectly they demonstrate the theo-
ries Of economic determinism and
class struggle. Unfortunately such
privileged individuals are rarely
startled by anything but the shock
ing thought that they may lose
their privileged status; and their
moral indignation reaches no high
err heights than when confronted
by the suggestion that forcihle ex-
preparation is the only hope Of a
decent society. They prove once
more what has so often been APP
parent in the class struggle, that
pncifisn is device Of the privileged
to insure the perpetnation Of their
ill-getten gains. The fact that they
owe their security to the police
protection OF state completely
subservient 10 their class consti-
tutes no denial OF their pacifisn,
but the miidest proposal TO coerce
them into a surrender of this Sc
curity aronses in them eloquent
pleas for the use of spiritual
meth1ds only in CHANGING society.
'The Fellowship Of Reconcil;a-
ton is not the only peace organi-
ystion in which this iesue Is TO the
fore. Pacifst groups everywhere
reject the same struggle. II is
central issue of the day.
"The outcome of the meeting TO-
night Is also Of great political sig
nifcance in that it rc-enacts IN
miniature the role of the Social
Democracy in contemporary capt..
tslist society. Members of the Ccnn-
ell who belong to the "rightists' Of
the Socialist Party voted consist
emily with the rcactionists Of
privilege. My participation in the
United States Congress Against
War in September, and my subse-
quent assumption Of the chairman :.
ship Of the American League
Against War and Fascism have
drawn the bitter opposition OF the
right" socialists as well rs that Of
the bankers and brokers on the
governing body Of tho Fellowship.
81 have no plans other than in
creased activity In tho American
League Against War and Fascism.
War Is imminent and we have only
matter Of months in which TO
arouse the masses against the war.
makers. Fascism will sweep over
us unless we prepare at once a
mighty opposition among the mil
lions Of farmers, city toilers, unem-
ployed, students. liberals and IN
tellectualss