The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-12-05
Liberal Protectors Of Fascisn

THE fight against the activities Of Man agents in this
country has brought to the fore with great clarity
the role and function Of liberalism in this country
With remarkable eagerness, whole RATS Of liberals
who had been loud in their denuncation Of Fascisrn
have emerged energetic defenders Of the Nazis on
the grounds Of free speech the ground that the
Nazis fought to be given chance to be heard"l
The most remarkable example of this liberal
method OF fighting the Nazis was tbs remark n1ads
by the weu-known liberal, Roger Baldwin, to the
thousands OF Boston workers and inteecuas who sue
cessfuy demonstrated recently against the Naz lee
tre OF Fascist professor under the auspices OF two
leading liberal" rabbis!
Baldwin declared that he had turned down an
offer to be the Chairman of anti Fascist meeting
in New York in order TO be able to to Boston
to defend the Naxfs right to "free speech"l
Baldwin and the liberals declare that they hate
Fascism. They affirm they really fighting Fas-
cisn in the best way when they hight for the right
to it's being heard"
But theirs is not worker in this country Who
will not that in the bitter struggle between the
working class and the Fascists ths liberals are in
between defending the Fsscists from the workers,
justfying their protection OF the Fascists with their
fires speech" talk
The workers Of this country fight against the
Fascist agents and propagandists and the liberals rush
in to protect the Fascsts from the workers. That is
the reality of their free speech" talk
To these liberals the fight against Fascisn is some
kind OF debate on certain kinds of phiosophes" They
forget that Fascsm is already reality in Germany
ana a growing menace in the U S., and that the
workers can see what it means. They can see that it
means the brutal murder and Imprisonment Of the
most militant fighters against capitalist exploitation
Thye can see that it the hideous frame-up of
the Rechstag defendants that it means the medieval
execution Of heroic German working class fighters
that 1t means ths falling and torture Of Thaelmann
leader Of the Communist Party They can see that 1t
means the pumping Of vicious race hatred poison the
1ln f-f
The savage mutilaton of revolutionary prisoners.
And it is these Fascist murders and tort,rers that
Baldwin wants to protect and encourage here with his
free speech" talk!
TIE whole question Of free speech cannot be separ-
ated from these realtieS of the class struggle The
Communist Party fights for free speech and for demo-
cratic civil rights for the working class for all the o
pressed and exploited Actually is the only party that
does so. The Communist Party believes in proletaran
democracy, in democracy for all toilers not in the
sham OF bourgeois democracy that, behind such
liberal phrases free speech" conceas the military
dictatorship Of the capitalist ruling class.
What do the liberals like Baldwin really do when
they fight for free speech" for the Nazs in this
country? They fighting to permit the Fascists to
organize to consolidate their influence and organza-
tion to sink their roots here to establish connections
with the Ku Kux Kan to spread their poison among
the masses here
To protect these Fascist organizers in this conn
Try under the cloak Of Gree speech Is to become
part Of the Nazi propaganda is to act as the buffer
between the Fasciss and the masses act as their
wall Of protection!
To defend the right" Of the German Fascists -
to organize and propagandize here, Is not only 70
assist them, but 1t Is to assist the development of
American Fsscism
One cannot fight Hitler, one cannot fight the
menace of growing American Fascist reaction and at
the same time fight for the protection of HtIer's
agents here This Is indisputable.
Yet 1t should not be forgotten that 1t was pre-
ctsely with such talk Of free speech" and "deoc-
racy" that the Social-Fasci.t leaders Of Germany
permitted the growth and accession to power Of Hit
leri
The comrades IN Boston showed splendid ex-
ample OF how to fight Fascist agents 1t is this ex-
ample OF the Boston comrades that must be followed
everywhere.
The fight against Fascsm is also fight against
ts liberal protectors