Evening star., 1937-09-05
BY MARK SULLIVAN.

II "A dlSpdICn IL WrOLe some tIlTee
years ago said the two European
political terms left and right"
L were beginning to appear occa-
eionally in America. This I deplored,
and 1 hoped the words would not get
a foothold here. for the kind of poll
tics they signify in Europe is, to Amer
lea, little sinister
But after three years, the words
are here, and the conditions they
signify are here.
1 now call attention to another Eu-
ropean political term, purge" now
beginning to be heard in America.
Purge means the drastic expulsion,
from political party Of dissenters.
Purge is rather new, even in Eu-
rope, I wonder if its origin has any
obscure relation to the treatment
Mussolini, when he was getting under
way used to administer to Italians
who dissented from fascism: Musso-
llnls agents used to tie the hands of
dissenters lay them on their backs,
and forcibly pour quart or so of cas-
tor oil down their throats.
Everywhere in Europe political
purges are carried out by violence.
In Germany. HitlerS minions, in
concerted raid on a single night, hunt
ed down and shot more than hum
dred persons suspected of dissent from
NaN. In Russia ais othe purges are
violent, but are carried out by courts
by courts, that is, as courts are under
stood in Russia. courts which are
agencies of the dictator and whose
function is to carry out the will of
Nazl. In Russia also the purges are
olssenters are tried and shot. or in
mllder cases are put in Jail where their
friends cannot find them.
Meets Fate in Russia.
Some who formerly were high
IN the Communist regime have been
subjected to that fate. The Russian
friend Of mine who about year ago
EXPLAINED to me the psychological in
evltability of frequent purges in an
authoritarian government. has him.
self been subjected to that discipline.
His friends do not know whether he
has'been executed or is in secret iail
Anyhow, the term purge" is begin
ming to appear in America. I suppose
1t Will spread and become familiar as
left and right have. Our political
purges as yet, mean only political,
death, not physical death. Whether
the purge will come to mean in Amer
lea what it means in Europe depends
on whether America goes on tC@ the
authoritarian form of government,
toward which We are now moviig. If
America has the authoritariasi form
OF government it will get, infallibly,
the KIND OF purge which is the inevi-
table accompaniment of ar authori-
tarlan government keepin. itself in
power. But in America fer the pres
ent, purge" means merslv political
death.
"Purging' the Democratic Party.
President Roosevelt IS going to at
tempt a purge" of the Democratic
party I feel troubled about writing.
OF any man, that he is going to- do
something or Others because saving
that implies knoWleige of the mans
iiIeHlloll-dTG OrGlnarly any per-
sons intentions are thing which We
can not know Nhich we can only
surmise, But to be deferred by that
qulbole would practically keep one
from writing anything at all.
The course Oh which Mr. Roose-
Welt has set out the present stage of
his attempt toward a changed form
OF government, is clear. He is going
to try to expt from the Democratic
party those Democratic Senators who
opposed his court proposal and those
Democratic Representatives who have
opposed othe.' measures of his.
The time and place of the purge is
TO be the Democratic primaries next
Spring. when the offending Demo-
cratic Senator's come up for renomi-
nation. For the present Mr.. Roose-
Welt is not going to oppose these SEN
ators openly himself For himself,
MS present strategy will be merely
to reassert that his measures must
be enacted; to say, as he has already
said, that taose who oppose his pol
1cles are against the public pood. and