The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-04-19
BY JOHN L. SPIVAK

LOS ANGELES, CaI.-An
intensive publicity campaign
urging the formation of fas-
cist bodies to combat COmmu-
mist activities in California is
in full blast here.
The bosses here realized that the
absence of an intensive anti-red
campaign was partly responsible for
the Communist successes and now
they are trying to make up for lost
time. The anti-red campaign,
which works smoothly with the or
gsnization Of fascist bodies. started
at first in the small newspapers in
areas affected by TUUL. strikes,
and as strike after strike was won
by the Agricultural Workers Union,
the newspapers became frantic.
The Los Angeles Times" always
a reactionary paper, led the publ
city onslaught on statewide scale.
The Hearst newspapers, which had
always assumed a liberal attitude
on the coast, when confronted with
actual Communist advances, forgot
all about the Yellow Peril, and fell
in line with editorials and distorted
news writing about the Red Peril"
Small local dailies, semi-weeklies
and weeklies in counties where the
T.U.UL. was active naturally started
whooping it up about the Reds. 1t
almost looked as though they had
just discovered there were Commu-
nists on the coast and the whoop-
ing frequently carried hints of ap-
proval if anyone got rough with the
Reds, Today, not only are the
newspa pers filed almost every day
with news, real and fancied, of
Communist activities, but the radio
has been utilized, too.
I was riding in a car in San Fran
cisco. When turned on the radio.
I heard:
The authorities are taking pre-
cautions against Communist -"
In Fresno, while eating in a rest
aurant, the radio blared forth:
Communist organizers have de-
scended upon the San Joaquin VAL
ley"
In Los Angeles, in the lobby of
my hotel at one o'clock in the
morning:
Fortunately the meeting which
the Communists organized did not
result in the expected riot due to
the precautions taken by the police
-"
With my morning coffee the
Times" screams:
Valley Forms Organization to
Gust Reds" In another paper
read: Blows Dealt Reds in Valley
l turn to the Times" editorial
page and I find the leading editor
lal: "Repelling the Reds" Califor-
MIA, especially southern California.
is red-conscious. The anti-red sc-
tivities which had been neglected
are now in full swing. The Hearst
papers play on the front page under
two column heads the Easley "ex-
poses"
NO one has ever cared about the
100000 migratory workers in Califor-
MIA. Disorganized, poverty-stricken.
helpless, they had wandered from
crop to crop, living on what the
fruit and vegetable growers threw
their way-enough to keep alive.
and that was all. Under Commu-
mist leadership they were demand
ing wage increases-and getting
them-and the whole machinery of
the state and the sources of COM
munication was thrown into the
fight against these Reds who were
organizing the starving migratory
workers.
ALL this publicity, the news dis
"a patches, Easley's discoveries"
in New York, which are played as
though the Reds were about to
seize everything from a one-horse
town street cleaning department to
the White House at any minute. the
editorials, the activities of the law
officers and the vigilantes-all this
is grist to the formation of fascist
groups. Silver Shirts" are irving