The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-08-16

mbiutc; SD
~ 81,
This windy paper, hollered Bob,
shaking the Daily Worker at Slim.
Every time 7 read 1t, it makes me
madden titan helln'
That's all right, little excitement
is good fer the blodd..",
yeah, but what's. all this belly
aching about defending the Soviet
Union? What the hell should we de-
fend the Soviet Union for? What we
gotta do is defend the United States
against the Soviet Union. Hey, Gun
mar, didn't you say, them Russians
have the biggest ARMY in the world?"
Gunnar looked UP from his cards
and answered gruffly, you're damn
right. and they got women i'll their
army, too. And eEsry factory worker
there is as good as. a. soldier. He's
got his rife right with him in the
factory. all set to- 30 at the first
whistle ''-'-'
Slim noticed the sly grin on Gum
mars faos, and sawsthat he had been
steaming Bob up. But what surprised
Slim was the reaction which Bob
got from this; that because the Soviet
Union had a Zig army the American
workers. had to defend the U. S.
against the Soviet Union.
There, you ge!g repeated Bob.
sand then you want US to defend
THEM! Believe me- 30, put me be-
hind a machine gun against them
!, Roosllans, and I'll make plenty of
their skins leak!"
Alta b9y!" laughed Gunnar.
Blackies the wiper, agreed, too. He
was a regular young fascist type, He
had been in the Citizens Military
Training Camps. and the National
d, Guard, and believed in the Bible
and the 81. Spangled Banner just
as snugly as IL believed in himself
and family: Francis Xavier Cava-
naugh, son of "self-made" plumb
ing contractor who owned a Chrys-
Ter and two-family, house in Bay
Ridge. But while this kid was just
milk-fed and dumb, Bob was differ
ent. His people were .Slovaks who
came over and settled in the coal
fields of West Virginia Bob had
worked il" ~the mines when he was
10 years old, and his lined and pock-
marked face showed evidences of the
capitalist mill.
I'm the first place, Bob, when you
talk about the Soviet Union, you
have to look at it from a different
angle: the workers country against
the capitalists. The Soviet Union
has standing army OF about $4,000,
whereas all the capitalist armies have
over 100000 But shafts not the
main thing, which is, that the army
of the Soviet Union is. purely de-
fense army" ai;-cf11
Bob shook his head sarcastically.
That's what they all say. Amt ours
a defense army, too?"
Defense Of what, defense OF
whom "rdemanded Slim.
Bob shook his head again, this time
at Sims stupid questions.
"Of allof us and our families, Of
course" aos1i
That's funny, Exclaimed Slim.
my family is in Maryland and the
army is in Panama defending them,
hey? Your family is in West Viz
ginia and the marines are in Hawaii
defending them, EN-? Blackey's fam
lily is in Brooklyn, and our gobs are
in Chinese waters, defending them,
hey?" 5 ssf
Blackey miaued hkeaa cat rubbed
the wrong way: "Yes,sand where the
hell is your Russian army"
Within the borders of the Soviet
Union, defending the workers there
against any capitalist invasion And
to prove that their army is only for
this purpose, the Russians have
offered at each disarmament confer
ence to completely abolish their army,
and navy too, If the. capitalists would
40 likewise" aer
Neither Bob nor Blackey had an
answer. Slim drew cup of coffee
and addressed Bob But how did you
figure that we have to. protect OUR
SELVES against the Soviet Union?"
Sure, don't you read all the time
how they're secretly spreading their
communism. preparing. to, conquer the
whole world?p sgslr
wait a minute, Bobsr,C Communist
IDEAS were taught and spread in the
United States and all over Europe
ong before the Soviet Union existed.
Ehe real ideas Of Communism we're
hrst set up by Marx and, Engels. In
IS ~ "a