Evening star., 1938-05-29
ROOSEVELT SEEN
0NROAD TO WAR
Peace Rally Is Addressed
by Thomas, Herring
and Martin.

dlu WdTllII.
Norman Thomas, leader Of the
American Socialists, and Hubert Her
ring. speaking for the Committee on
Cultural Relations with Latin America,
told 1000 men and women at the open
ing session of the three-day Keep
America Out of War rally here yester-
day that President Roosevelt's foreign
policies are directing the United States
toward war
: Homer Martin, president OF the
100000 United Automobile Workers
of America, summoned the men and
women attending the first National
Anti-War Congress in the Rialto
Theater to wage vigorous. ceaseless
peace campaign reaching Into every
union hall, every church, every club
where our citizens meet in the or
binary routine of their lives" With
tervor he cried:
I'VE must make America aware OF
the imminent menace of war. We
must make America aware OF the
causes of war. We must make America
aware Of the shams, the tricks and the
strategy of war-mongers. We must
expose those who traffic in war and
war propaganda for the enemies OF
humanity that they are. We must
build public opinion to support the
ways of peace and despise the ways
of war"
Opposes Super-Navy.
The platform of the Keep America
Out of War Committee demands an
end to the "super-navy" program. IAN
end to the use of naval vessels to pro-
tect oil tankers in Chinese waters. the
immediate removal of American mill
tary forces from the Far East. and no
entangling alliances for war under
any name or pretext, with any nation
or bloc of nations"
The Rialto Theater meeting, ar
ranged through the cooperation OF
Is national labor, farm, church,
womens and professional peace or
ganizations and group OF Senators
and Representatives, followed shortly
after a score of members of the Youth
Committee Against War staged
noontime demonstration along the
Pennsylvania avenue fence of the
White House grounds decrying the
New Deals international thought.
The young men and women hung
on the fence seven placards, which
together read: ''F. D. R.-You're Pre-
pairing for War-You Fight It." Police
intervened and removed the signs
after the demonstrators, who had ex-
pected a more exciting time, retreated
quietly to the curb. The demonstra-
ton lasted about 10 minutes. Its
promoters left for the Anti-War
Congress.
Thomas Hits Collective Security.
Mr.. Thomas. who wrote the peace
platform for the Keep America Out
of War Committee, condemned the
program of collective security which
the President offered for America in
his speech at Chicago last October
with this comment: collective Sc
curity means for us certain militarism
and almost certain war" American
Communists want war, he said, to
bring us to the aid of Stain, the
Soviet dictator. He belittled the hon.
esty of a general war that would be
advertised as meant to do death to
Fascism. He added
ITO keep America out of war will
require some elementary economic
planning 1t will require steadfast
opposition to each step that logically
leads to war 1t will require those
intelligent popular preSsures which
this Congress typifies. 1t will not, like
war. require dictatorship. 1t is pos
sble for us to use pressure to keep a
government out of war far more
easily than for us to use pressure to
guide it in war toward democratic
ends"
Mr. Martin, the executive board of
whose c. 1. o. union recently put it
self on record as opposed to American
in war said peace must
be preserved through the economic
security of the mass of the people. He
enlarged on this thought:
In our fight to maintain peace, we
must build great Nationwide anti
var movement, combining all pro-
gressive forces that oppose the in
human and uncivilized business Of
using humanity as pawn in the
hands of unscrupulous international
manipulators.
Must Not Be Policeman.
Furthermore, the country, Mr.. Mar
tin said, must not be the policeman
of the Orient and the depression must
be ended, lest 1T become expedient for
politicians representing special inter-
ests rather than public welfare 70