The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-04-26
AMERICAN SPIRIT SUMMERS; i; SHOULD AWAKEN TO THREAT
 OF COMMUNISM
Editor, Waterbury Democrat:

Editor, Waterbury Democrat:
 In any fight it is necessary and important to know how strong your adversary is. To estimate the strength of an enemy it is necessary to find about the number of his men and the quality of their arms. But more important than how many men they have or how efficient their guns are, is this consideration: How strong is the enemy'S spirit? How strong is their will to win?
 If an enemy is inspired by a financial belief in his cause then he is a dangerous enemy.
 Attila the Hun. enemy of the Ro- mans when the Roman Empire was at its height, led but small band. His men were few in numbers com- pared to the vast population of the Roman world. His arms were in- ferior to the arms of the Roman legionS. But Attila the Hun was a fanatic. And his followers burned with an unholy zeal for conquest.
 Attila the Hun, called by the civil lized world the Scourge of God, struck terror to the hearts of peace loving people from the frontiers of China, to the frontiers of Gaul. He laid waste 70 flourishing cities, and at the height of his power led his bloodthirsty fanatics to the gates of Rome itself, the capital of the world. And when this man died his followers who had worshipped him as a God when he lived, at his funeral celebration shaved their heads and cut themselves with knives as a demonstration of their devotion. Such was the spirit of this enemy of Rome, whom history has recorded as the most formidable foe that ever sought to destroy civi- lization.
 Attila the Hun laid waste half of Europe and though he forced his way as far as Rome, he did not cs.p- ture Rome. His career of plunder was brought to an end by men who burned with a greater zeal than his, by men inspired by high ideals he could never know. Attila the Scourge of God, was beaten by men who had faith in God!
 Fanatics invariably will be victor ious until they meet with men who can oppose their ferocious zeal with a higher spirit and a higher faith than theirs. There are fanatics to- day. There are countries that inspire devotion in the hearts of their people which can match the fanat- ical zeal of any period in history. In some countries there are men who vie with one another for the hon. or of sacrificing their lives on mis- Sions of certain death.
 Countries which can inspire such devotion cannot be stopped by other countries, no matter how large their armies or armaments, if these other countries do not inspire among their people an equal devotion. Spirit and a will to win determine the victor in any fight.
 America today is challenged by Communism. Communism seeks to destroy the government of the Uni- ted States and seeks to put in its place a Soviet government directed from Moscow.
 To wage this fight Communism has no great number of men. There are not more than 5O,00O members in this country. Communism is not backed by extensive resources. They own no chain of newspapers, no ra- dio stations, no elaborate offices. But the Communists have something more important than numbers and equipment. The Communists have a spirit and will to win.
 The Communists are fanatics. They are passoinate devotees of the Atheistic religion of Communism. In them is inculcated a hatred of American ideals and traditions. The Communists have consecrated their lives to the hammer and sickle and with the salute of the clenched fist they are ready to die in the red cause. It is this spirit which makes Communism a dangerous enemy. If this spirit of the Communists who seek to destroy America Is not op- posed by an American spirit, the day will inevitably come when the Communists will sit In the capital @t Washington.
 The spirit of communism is no match for the American spirit. But l the American spirit which could de-